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JUST  PUBLISHED. 

A  very  Remarkable  Book  by  Robert  Dale  OTtten^ 

ENTITLED 

Threading  My  Way; 

OR, 

Twenty-seven  Years  of  Autobiography. 


A  narrative  of  the  first  twenty-seven  years  of  the  Author's 
life ;  its  adventures,  errors,  experiences ;  together  with 
reminiscences  of  noted  personages  whom  he  met  forty  or 
fifty  years  since,  etc. ,  etc. 

"All  Mr.  Owen's  chapters  have  been  remarkable  not  only 
fat  the  attractiveness  of  the  incidents,  but  for  the  light  shed 
on  many  important  social  and  industrial  movements,  and  for 
the  noble  sincerity  and  good-humor  pervading  them." — 
Inter-Ocean. 

"There  has  been  no  better  magazine  writing  for  a  long 
time  than  this  Autobiography." — SJ>ringJield  Rej>ublican, 

"  A  fascinating  Autobiography." — Boston  Post. 


A  hand8<»ne  i2mo  volume,  beautifully  printed,  and 

in  cloth,  price  $1.50. 

G.    W.    CARL  ETON  &>   CO...  PUBLISHERS^ 
NEW   YORK. 


THE 


DEBATABLE   LAND 


BETWEEN 


THIS  WORLD  AND  THE  NEXT 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIVE  NAERATIONS 


BY 

ROBERT   DALE   OWEN 


AtTTHOB    or 

^FOOTVALLS    ON    THE    BOUNDABT    OF    ANOTHER    WORIiD. 


"  Occurrences  which,  according  to  received  opinions,  ought  not  to  happen,  are  the  taalm 
which  serve  as  clues  to  new  discoveries." — Sin  John  Hkrschkl. 


NEW   YORK: 

G.    W.    Carleton   &   Co,,    Publishers. 

LONDON:    TRUBNER  &  CO. 
MDCCCLXXXIII. 


^f;^  '  Katered  according  to  Act  of  C(mgress,  in  the  year  18T1   t^  ^       f 

^    /  G.  W.  CARLETON  &,  CO..  £  J     , 


G.  W.  CARLETON  &  CO., 
Sb  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congross,  at  Waehli:^. 


^^^.  I    iwv^  ^hyi  ^'^^ 


PREFACE.      ^^^*—    ^^  ' 


f 


"la  S<riptare  we  are  perpetually  reminded  that  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  world  are  in 
the  high  est  sense  laws  of  Nature,  whose  obligation,  operation,  and  effect  are  all  in  th« 
constitution  and  course  of  things."— Argyll. 


I" 


One  of  the  best  known  and  most  brilliant  among  the  triumphs  of 

•K  astronomical  science  was  the  prediction,  in  advance  of  actnal  dis- 

<^   covery,  of  the  existence  and,  approximately,  of  the  place  in  the 

heavens,  of  a  pianet  oelonging  to  our  solar  system  and  revolving 

outside  of  Uranus. 

^    Certain  data  had  long  been  known  to  astronomers  :  as  that  plan- 

2^  ets,  if  subject  to  the  sun's  attraction  only,  would  revolve  in  ellipses ; 

but  that,  being  subject  also,  in  a  feeble  but  appreciuble  degree,  to 

the  attraction  of  each  other,  this  minor  influence  causes  them  to 

deviate  from  their  true  elliptic  paths ;  and  that  these  perturbations, 

as  they  are  called,  are  calculable,  so  that  each  j)lanet's  exact  place 

on  any  given  day,  past  or  future,  can  be  ascertained. 

Again,  though  Uranus  was  discovered  as  late  as  1781,  this  planet 
had  been  seen,  mistaken  for  a  fixed  star  which  afterward  disap- 
peared, and  its  place  registered  as  such,  as  early  as  1690  ;  and  it 
had  been  so  noted,  at  intervals,  by  several  observers  throughout 
the  eighteenth  century. 

It  was  also  admitted  that  discrepancies  existed  between  the  ob- 
aerved  places  thus  ascertained  to  have  been  occupied  by  Uranus,  and 
the  places  which,  it  seemed,  that  planet  ought  to  have  occupied,  all 
known  perturbing  influences  being  calculated ;  and  when,  after  ac- 
tual discovery,  its  tables  were  accurately  kept  for  a  series  of  years, 
it  was  further  ascertained  that  this  discrepancy  between  the  tabulaj 

725144 


V^l  PREFACE. 

and  the  observed  positions  of  the  planet  gradually  increased  up  to 
the  year  1822;  then  became  stationary;  then  began  to  decrease. 
This  indicated  the  permanent  existence  of  an  occult  disturbing 
cause.     That  cause  might  be  a  planet  exterior  to  Uranus. 

With  these  data  and  assuming  certain  probable  postulates  as  to 
the  orbit  and  the  mean  distance  from  the  sun  of  the  supposed  per- 
turbing planet — after  profound  investigations  exhausting  the  re- 
sources of  analogy — a  young  Parisian  observer*  wrote  to  one  of  the 
principal  astronomers  of  the  Berlin  Observatory,  telling  him  where 
the  required  planet  ought  to  be,  and  asking  him  to  look  for  it.  It 
was  found  that  very  night ;  and  at  less  than  two  diameters  of  the 
moon's  disk  from  the  indicated  spot. 

If  some  Le  Verrier  of  Spiritual  Science  had  taken  note,  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  of  certain  perturbing  agencies  of  which  the  effects 
were  visible  throughout  the  religious  world,  he  might  have  made  a 
prediction  more  important  than  that  of  the  French  astronomer. 

For  even  then  it  could  have  been  discerned — ^what,  however,  is 
much  more  evident  to-day — that  an  old  belief  was  about  to  disap- 
pear from  civilized  society ;  a  change  which  brings  momentous  re- 
sults in  its  train. 

This  change  is  from  belief  in  the  exceptional  and  the  miraculous 
to  a  settled  conviction  that  it  does  not  enter  into  God's  economy, 
as  manifested  in  His  works,  to  operate  here  except  mediately, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  natural  laws ;  or  to  suspend  or 
change  these  laws  on  special  occasions ;  or,  as  men  do,  to  make 
temporary  laws  for  a  certain  age  of  the  world  and  discontinue  these 
throughout  succeeding  generations.     In  other  words,  the  civilized 


*  Lr  Vrrrier.  Mr.  J.  C.  Adams,  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  without  knowing 
what  the  other  was  about,  had  engaged  in  a  similar  investigation  and  obtained  a  similar 
result,  except  that  the  spot  indicated  by  him  was  nearly  five  lunar  diameters  distant  from 
the  true  one.  Dr.  Galle,  of  Berlin,  to  whom  Le  Verrier  wrote,  received  the  letter  on  th« 
23d  of  November.  1846 ;  and  during  the  night  of  the  23d-24th  Nov.imbcr,  he,  aided  bj 
Enck6,  discovered  Neptune. 


FREFACE.  Vi: 

world  is  gradually  settling  down  to  the  assurance  that  natural  \a,\t 
IS  universal,  invariable,  persistent. 

The  advent  of  this  change  conceded,  a  thoughtful  observer,  en* 
dowed  with  proleptic  faculty,  might  have  foreshadowed  some  of  its 
consequents. 

If  natural  law  be  invariable,  then  either  the  wonderful  works  as- 
cribed by  the  evangelists  to  Christ  and  his  disciples  were  not  per- 
formed, or  else  they  were  not  miracles. 

If  they  were  not  performed,  then  Christ,  assuming  to  perform 
them,  lent  himself,  as  Renan  and  others  have  alleged,  to  deception. 
This  theory  disparages  his  person  and  discredits  his  teachings. 

But  if  they  were  performed  under  natural  law,  and  if  natural 
laws  endure  from  generation  to  generation,  then,  inasmuch  as  the 
same  laws  under  which  these  signs  and  wonders  occurred  must  exist 
still,  we  may  expect  somewhat  similar  phenomena  at  any  time. 

But  an  acute  observer,  looking  over  the  whole  ground,  might 
have  detected  more  than  this. 

He  would  have  found  two  antagonistic  schools  of  religious  opin- 
ion ;  the  one  basing  spiritual  truth  on  the  miraculous  and  the  in 
fallible,  chiefly  represented  in  a  Church  of  vast  power,  fifteen  hun- 
dred years  old,  which  has  held  her  o^vn  against  bold  and  active 
adversaries,  and  even  increased  in  the  relative  as  well  as  the  actual 
Dumber  of  her  adherents  for  the  last  three  hundred  years:  the 
other,  dating  back  three  hundred  and  fifty  ye«-rs  only,  affiliating 
more  or  less  vnth  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  so  placuxg  herself  in  the 
line  of  progress ;  yet  with  less  imposing  antecedents,  with  fewer 
adherents,  and,  alas !  with  adherents  weakened  in  influence  by  a 
'arge  admixture  of  IndifEerents,  and  still  more  weakened  by  intes- 
tine dissensions  on  questions  of  vital  moment ;  even  on  the  religious 
iihibboleth  of  the  day — the  question  of  uniform  rule,  or  miracle ; 
many  of  this  latter  Church  stUl  holding  to  the  opimon  that  to 
abandon  the  doctrine  of  the  Miraculous  is  to  deny  the  works  oi 
Christ 


VIU  PBEFAOB. 

Apparently  a  very  unequal  contest  -the  cutlook  quite  discourag 
ing  I  Our  spiritual  Le  Yerrier  might  at  first  so  regard  it,  just  ai 
nis  namesake  may  have  felt  discouraged  when  he  first  confronted 
the  difficulty  of  predicting  where  an  unknown  world  could  be 
found. 

Yet  if  our  observer  had  abiding  faith  in  the  ultimate  prevalence 
alike  of  Christianity  and  of  the  doctrine  of  natural  law,  he  might, 
in  casting  about  for  a  way  out  of  difficulty,  have  come  upon  a  prac- 
tical solution. 

History  would  inform  him  that  the  works  of  Christ  and  his  dis- 
ciples, mistaken  by  the  Jews  for  miracles,  effectively  arrested  the 
attention  of  a  semi-bai-barous  age,  incapable  of  appreciating  the  in- 
trinsic value  and  moral  beauty  of  the  doctiines  taught.  And  anal- 
ogy might  suggest  to  him  that  if  phenomena  more  or  less  resem- 
bling these  could  be  witnessed  at  the  present  day,  and  if  they  were 
not  weighted  down  by  claims  to  be  miraculous,  they  might  produce 
on  modem  indifference  a  somewhat  similar  impression.  Then,  if 
he  had  faith  that  God,  who  has  bestowed  to  overflowing  the  means 
to  supply  our  physical  wants,  would,  in  His  own  good  time,  pro- 
vide also  for  our  spiritual  needs — ^it  might  occur  to  him  that  the 
appearance,  under  our  eyes,  of  powei-s  and  gifts  more  or  less  similai 
to  those  of  apostolic  times,  was  not  unlikely  to  be  the  means  em- 
ployed. And,  if  he  was  a  Christian,  this  surmise  would  be  con- 
firmed by  reading  that  Jesus,  himself  exercising  these  powers  'and 
gifts,  promised  to  his  followers  after  his  death  similar  faculties;* 
evidently  not  regarding  them  as  exclusively  his,  or  as  restricted  tc 
the  age  he  lived  in. 

Guided  by  such  premises  as  these,  our  supposed  obseiver  of 
twenty-five  years  since — ^though  living  at  a  time  when  the  terms 
"medium"  and  "manifestations"  (in  their  modem  sense)  had  not 
yet  come  up — might  liave  predicted  the  speedy  appearance  and  recog- 
nition among  tis  of  Spiritual  Phenomena,  resembling  those  whict 

♦  John  xiv.  18 


PBEFACfE.  IX 

attended  (/Tirisfs  ministry  and  the  Apostles'  labors.  As  Le  Verrier, 
guided  by  positive  data  and  credible  postulates,  wrote,  in  1846,  to 
Dr.  Galle,  telling  him  what  ougTit  to  be  found  in  the  heavens ;  ot 
might  a  far-sighted  Christian  observer  have  written  to  a  friend,  in 
the  same  year,  declaring  what  ought  soon  to  be  witnessed  on  earth. 

The  occurrence  among  us  of  spiritual  phenomena  under  law  not 
only  tends  to  reconcile  Scripture  and  sound  philosophy ;  not  only 
helps  to  attest  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  reign  of  law;  not  only 
explains  and  confirms  the  general  accuracy  of  the  gospel  nar 
ratives ;  but  it  does  much  more  than  this.  It  supplies  to  a  strug 
gling  religious  minority,  greatly  in  want  of  aid,  the  means  of 
bringing  to  light,  even  before  unbelievers  in  Scripture,  the  great 
truth  of  immortality;  and  it  furnishes  to  that  same  minority,  con- 
tending against  greatly  superior  numl>ers,  other  powerful  argumen- 
tative weapons  urgently  needed  in  the  strife. 

Lcs^  cogent  considerations  than  these  would  suffice  in  proof  that 
the  subject  treated  of  in  this  volume  is  of  unspeakable  importanca 
in  the  interests  alike  of  science  and  of  Christianity. 

In  the  following  pages  I  seek  to  show  that  Religion,  such  aa 
Christ  taught,  though  sure  to  prevail  in  the  end,  is  yet,  for  the 
time,  hard  pressed ;  on  one  hand  by  the  hosts  enlisted  under  the 
banner  of  Infallibility,  on  the  other  by  the  vigorous  pioneers  of 
Science :  and  that  in  this  strait  experimental  evidence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  modem  spiritual  phenomena,  if  it  can  be  had,  would  assist 
hei-  Ijeyond  measure.  I  seek  to  show,  also,  that  if  we  but  oljserve 
^s  dispassionately  as  the  Berlin  astronomer  did,  we  shall  obtain,  as 
to  the  reality  and  the  true  character  of  these  phenomena,  proof  as 
conclusive  as  that  which  demonstrated  the  existence  of  our  latest- 
'ound  planet. 

Twelve  years  ago  I  endeavored  to  aid  in  clearing  the  way.  Aa 
U I  anus  had  occasionally  been  seen,  but  not  recognized  as  a  plmei 
1* 


X  PREFACE. 

f(r  a  century,  so  had  spiritual  phenomena  been  observed  and  noted 
from  time  to  time  in  the  past,  yet  not  then  taken  for  what  the^ 
really  were — occun-ences  under  law.  Regarding  them  in  this  light, 
I  brought  what  seemed  the  best  authenticated  among  them  to  pub- 
lic notice.  * 

In  the  present  work,  partly  historical  though  chiefly  filled  with 
detached  narratives  in  way  of  illustration,  I  could  not  well  avoid 
touching  incidentally  on  certain  doctrines  which  seem  to  me  less 
beneficial  than  popular.  If  I  have  not  succeeded — as  who  fully 
succeeds? — in  dealing  candidly  and  dispassionately  with  contending 
creeds,  it  has  not  been  for  lack  of  earnest  endeavor. 

I  was  tempted  into  the  field  which  I  here  occupy  chiefly  by  a 
profound  conviction  tTiat  it  affords  phenomenal  proof  of  a  life  to 
come.  But  phenomenal  proof  is  far  more  convincing  than  historical 
evidence.  Had  the  electric  telegraph  been  invented  and  employed 
for  a  brief  period  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  had  telegraphy  then 
become  one  of  J;he  lost  arts,  the  old  records  of  its  temjjorary  triumph, 
how  well  attested  soever,  if  unsupported  by  modem  example,  would 
have  created  but  feeble  belief  to-day. 

Such  reflections  outweighed  the  reluctance  one  feels  in  bringing 
forward  what  has  lain  for  a  time  under  the  world's  taboo.  Nor  am 
I  over-sanguine,  nor  especially  desirous,  of  speedy  result.  New 
ideas,  how  true  soever,  are  seldom  respectable,  in  the  worldly  sense 
of  the  term.  Like  self-made  men  they  win  their  way  to  distinction 
— as  it  is  best  they  should — but  slowly,  by  their  own  merits. 

The  reader  will  find  some  repetition  in  this  volume.  In  discussing 
a  subject  with  which  the  public  mind  has  little  familiarity  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  avoid  this ;  and,  in  such  a  discussion,  a  certain  amount  of 
iteration  has  its  u^e. 

*  In  a  work  published  January,  1860  {Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Another 
World),  I  traced  back  the  occasional  appearance  of  spontaneona  spiritual  phenomena  foi 
^wo  luindred  years,  supplying  many  examples. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGl 

Pbepack 6 

Index 17 

PREFATORY  ADDRESS  TO  THE  PROTESTANT  CLERGY. 
Section  1.  Statement  op  Subject 23 

Position  of  Clergy. — Every  age  has  its  needs. — A  stationary 
policy  impracticable. — Problems  proposed  for  solution. 
Section  2.  Successes  and  Revekses  of   Early   Protest- 
antism       26 

Conquests  of  Protestantism  in  forty  years. — Most  of  Europe 
lost  to  the  Pope. — The  outlook  in  1568. — The  reaction  during 
eighty  years  thereafter. — Expatriation  of  Moriscoes  and  its 
effects. — Roman  Catholic  gains  in  England:  in  the  United 
States. — How  explain  this  ? 
Section  3.  Inadequate  Causes  suggesting  Themselves.  ...  33 
The  Catholic  reformation. — Loyola. — Persecution  and  the  sword 
insuflBcient  explanations. — Sceptical  revolution  of  the  eigh- 
teenth and  counter-revolution  of  nineteenth  centuries. 

Section  4.  How  explain  the  foregoing  Episodes? 39 

Roman  Catholic  doctrines. — Scientific  research'  restricted. — 
Dogma  of  Lifallibility. — Can  there  be  religious  progress  ?— 
Triumphs  of  Science. — Grand  truth  in  Protestantism. 

Section  5.  The  sin  at  Marburg  and  at  Geneva 49 

Luther  and  Zwingli  at  Marburg. — Luther's  radical  error. — 
Calvin's  sin. 

Section  6.  The  Fortunes  and  the  Fate  op  Servetus 53 

Servetus  and  CEcolampadius, — Servetus  in  Paris,  in  Vienne, 
and  in  Geneva. — His  great  work. — Escapes  from  Vienne,  is 
tried  for  blasphemy  and  condemned  to  be  burned  alive. — 
Calvin's  share  in  his  death  confessed  and  applauded. — Could 
such  men  conquer  ? 
Section  7.  Religious  Toleration  Three  Hundred  Years 

ago 7(' 

Castalio. — Sociuus. — Zwingli — Virtually  no  toleration  in  the 
sixteenth  century. 

Section  8.  Salient  Doctrines  op  the  Reformers 73 

Their  zeal. — St.  Augustine's  influence. — The  "  Listituteg." — 
Calvin's  ideas  on  human  depravity,  origin  of  evil,  predestina- 
tion, and  works. — Incredible  lengths  to  which  he  went.- 
Contrasted  with  Luther. — Luther  on  vicarious  atonement, 
and  faith  without  works. — Sabbath  and  Sunday  in  Augsburg 
Confession. — Diderot  and  D'Alembert. — Human  wiU  a  beast 
of  burden  ? 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

FAGB 

Section  9.  What  Lesson  does  the  Histoby  of  the  Refob- 

MATION  teach  ? 90 

How  long  shall  we  wait  ? — Foundation  of  popular  theology. — 
Freer  opinions  of  Luther. 
Section  10.   Spirit  and  Teachings  of  Christianity  com- 
pared    WITH     those      op      CAIiVINISTIC      AND 

Lutheran  Theology 97 

Master-principle  of    Christianity. — Profanations    of    Christian 
name. — Calvinism  and  Lutheranism  and  Christianity  com- 
pared.— ^Who inherit  Heaven? — Fascination  of  Calvin's  Theol- 
ogy. 
Section  11.  Effect   on   Morality   of   certain   favorite 

Doctrines  of  the  Reformers 110 

All  human  actions  bear  fruit. — Effect  inseparable  from  cause. — 
The  scape-goat. — Mercy,  not  sacrifice. — Belief  neither  crime 
nor  virtue. — Christ  before  Paul — We  must  not  preach  coward- 
ice.— True  humility. — Overmuch  introspection. — Power  of 
faith  and  love .  — HelL 

Section  12.  Corroboration  from  History 126 

Luther's  despondency. — Iron  rule  in  Cknieva. — Comedy  and 

Tragedy. — The    Scottish    kirk. — Puritans   courageous    and 

cruel. — Quakers, — Roger  WUliams. — ^Laws  to  hang  children. 

— World's  debt  to  the  Reformers. 

Section  13.  Christianity,  shorn   of  Parasitic  Creeds,  a 

Progressive  Science 141 

LifaUibility  arrests  progress. — Grammatolatry  the  worst  idol- 
atry.— Safer  without  doctrine  of  plenary  inspiration. — Mir- 
acles   or   law? — Temple    and    Baden    Powell. — Conscience 
supreme. 
Section  14.  Spiritualism  necessary  to  confirm  the  Truths, 

and  assure  the  progress,  op  christianity..  154 
Renan's  leadership. — Two  variant  theories. — The  Lidifferents. — 
Deism  unsatisfactory. — Did  spiritual  gifts  cease? — Christ 
never  taught  the  miraculous,  nor  a  finality. — Ecclesiastical 
"miracles"  discredited. — Inspiration  the  origin  of  aU  relig 
ions. — Accordance  of  Spiritualism  with  Christianity. — The 
doctrines  of  SpirituaUsm. — It  teaches  no  speculative  divin- 
ity.— It  denounces  no  religion. — Proof  of  immortality  impera- 
tively needed. — Sacred  duty  of  investigation. 


BOOK   I. 

TOUCHING   COMMUNICATION   OP   RELIGIOUS    KNOWLEDGE 

TO  MEN. 

CHAPTER   I. 
Of  Human  iNFALLiBiLrrY 183 

Subject  proposed.— The  great  problem.— Direct  revelation?— 


CXJNTENTS.  Xlll 

PAG« 


Theory  of  evil. — The  tide  against  infallibility, — Church  of 
Rome's  stronghold. — Translations  and  canon  of  Scripture. — 
King  James'  instructions. — Proof  of  immortality  indispen- 


CHAPTER   II. 

Of  Mediate  Spiritual  Revealings 195 

Infallibility,  Scepticism,  and  a  third  element. — Why  came  spirit- 
ualism so  late? — Belief  in  devil. — Possession. — Witchcraft. — 
Christ's  treatment  of  these  influences. — The  Salem  tragedy. 
— No  infallible  teachings. — A  bishop's  blunder. — Demoniac 
theory  untenable. — Phases  of  belief  in  Christendom. — Secular- 
ism.— ^A  lost  opportunity. — ^IVIovements  in  Anghcan  Church. — 
Quakerism  and  Swedenborgianism :  their  truths,  errors,  and 
failure. — Spiritualism  :  its  growth,  successes,  and  the  num- 
ber of  its  adherents, — Temporary  schism. — How  Spiritualism 
should  be  studied. — Hints  and  warnings, 

CHAPTER  III. 
Op  Inspiration 241 

This  subject  in  bad  hands. — What  inspiration  is. — The  source 
of  all  reUgions. — Two  theories  :  Socrates  sets  forth  one,  and 
Cicero  the  other, — Demon  of  Socrates.— Socrates  before  his 
judges. — A  French  magnetizer  alarmed, — Mental  powers 
during  somnambulism. — An  illogical  Prince. — Homer  and 
Shakspeare :  hterary  inspiration. — Raphael :  artistic  inspira- 
tion.— Beethoven  and  Mozart :  musical  inspiration. — The 
Titanic  steps  of  the  world. — Darwin's  theory. — Man's  first 
appearance. — Unprecedental  step  in  Spiritual  progress. — 
Scepticism  at  fault. — The  Anointed, — ^W^hat  man  may  be. — 
Whence  Christ's  preeminence  ? — Spiritual  communication 
touching  His  birth. — His  powers  conditional. — Danger  of  put- 
ting trust  in  incidentals. — How  interpret  "  the  Son  of  God  "  ? 
— Christ's  promise  fulfilled. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Difficulties  and  Prejudices 277 

Inexperienced  pioneers. — Physical  and  Spiritual  science  need 
differing  modes  of  treatment. — ^An  infant  hypothesis. 


BOOK   II. 

SOME  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PHENOMENA. 
CHAPTER   I. 

I'HEIR  COMINQ   USUALLY  UNEXPECTED 281 

At  the  Russian  Minister's, — The  strange  answer  :  what  think- 
ing entity  made  it? — Changed  tenor  of  author's  life. — ^A 
domestic  invasion. — Apparition  soon  after  death. — Midnight 
excursiaa  to  California. — Speaking   by  influenoe. — ^Why  a 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAOl 

villa  was  sold  at  a  loss. — A  midniglit  -visitor. — ^Apparition  of  a 
repentant  domestic. — Bepentance  among  "spirits  in  prison." 

CHAPTER   II. 

Animals  PERCEivrNG  Spiritual  Phenomena ^03 

Wliat  befell  a  Swiss  oflEicer. — The  dog,  cat,  and  canary-bird  : 
bow  affected. — ^What  preceded  a  child's  death. — The  dog  in 
the  Wolf  ridge  wood :  its  life-long  terror. 

CHAPTER   III. 

Uniyersality  op  Spiritual  Manifestations 810 

Is  Spiritualism  a  superstitious  epidemic  ? — Bell-ringing  in  Eng- 
land :  a  cluster  of  narratives. — Satan  in  the  bells. — Captain 
Marryat  and  the  Lady  of  Bumham  Green. — The  House  of 
Mystery. — Endemical  disturbances  throughout  a  hundred 
years. — Knock  and  it  shall  be  opened. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Spiritual    Phenomena    sometimes    result    in    seemino 

Triples. 336 

The  butler's  ghost :  Lord  Erskiae's  testimony. — A  fashionable 
lady's  ' '  dog-ears  and  folds. " — A  mere  trifle  predicted. 


BOOK   III. 

PHYSICAL  MANIFESTATIONS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  Spirit-rap 343 

With  Leah  and  Kate  Fox. — The  spirit-rap  tested  throughout  a 
house;  on  water;  in  trees;  on  a  ledge  of  sea-shore  rock. — 
Seeing  the  raps. — Touched  by  the  agency  which  spirit-raps. — 
A  phosphorescent  light  raps  on  a  door. — Spirit-hands  melt 
away. — Poundings  by  a  homicide. — Tremendous  knockings : 
house  shaken. — Visit  to  a  haunted  house. — Overpowering 
clatter. — Effect  of  sudden  light. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Moving  Ponderable  Bodies  by  occult  Agency 361 

Crucial  test :  Robert  Chambers  present. — Table,  weighing  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  suspended  in  air. — Table,  flung 
into  the  air,  rotates. — Terrible  power  shown. 

CHAPTER  III. 
Direct  Spirit  Writing." 399 

Baron  de  Guldenstubbe :  his  experiences  in  direct  writing.  -  - 
Strangely  suggestive  ! — My  own  experiences. — Seeing  an 
illuminated  hand  write. — Specimens  of  writing. — Can  the 
senses  be  tiusted  ? — ^Direct  writing  by  gas-light. — Specimen. — 


CJONTENTS.  XV 

PASS 

Experiences  of  Mr.  Livermore  and  of  Mrs.  John  Davis. -»- 
Writing  on  human  hand  and  arm. — Letters  appear  and  fade 
under  author's  eyea 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Bpikit  Touches 891 

In  Naples  with  Mr.  Home. — Prince  Luigi's  experience. — Spirit- 
touches  by  gas-hght  in  New  York. — The  difficulties  of  dis- 
belief. 


BOOK   IV. 

IDENTITY  OF  SPIRITS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Stubborn  facts  connecting  two  Worlds 8M 

A  Spirit  arranges  its  worldly  affairs. — Sister  Elizabeth  and  the 
family  register. — The  grandmother's  promise  and  apparition. 

CHAPTER  II. 
A  Case  op  Identity  Three  Hundred  Years  old 409 

Human  love  bridges  the  gulf :  so  may  philanthropy. — ^Earth- 
binding  influences.— The  spinet. — N.  G.  Bach's  dbream ;  his 
hand  writes. — The  parchment. — Baltazarini — Henry  III.; 
song  composed  by  him. — Marie  de  Cleves. — ^M.  Back's  cer- 
tificate. 

CHAPTER   III. 
A  Beautiful  Spirit  manifesting  herself 434 

An  old  promise  kept. — Proof  of  identity  from  500  miles  o£E. — 
Apparition  of  the  betrothed. — Typical  test. — ^Portrait  with 
emblem.  — Deductions. 


BOOK    V. 

THE  CROWNING  PROOF  OF  IMMORTALITY. 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  Great  Faith- Article  of  the  Firsi  Century 451 

Early  Christian  faith  based  on  Christ's  apparition. — Study  of 
apparitions  important. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Apparitions  showing  themselves  spontaneously 455 

False  ideas  touching  ghosts,  very  injurious. — Appearance  soon 
after  death. 

CHAPTER  III. 

My  own  Experience  touching  Apparitions 459 

Hour  with  Leah  Fox. — An  apparition  seen,  felt  and  heaxd.-~A 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

PAen 

ghost  speaks, — Interraption, — Spiritual  sculpture. — Appari- 
tion in  Boston. — Plan  of  locality. — Shining  raiment. 

CHAPTER   lY. 

A  NEAR  Relative  shows  herself,  throughout  five  years, 

TO  A  SURVIVING  Friend 4b3 

Mr.  Livermore's  testimony. — The  crucial  test. — Figure  re- 
flected in  mirror. — Exhibition  of  rare  beauty. — Corroboration 
throughout  years. — Figure  throws  shadow  on  wall. — Appari- 
tions seen  through  three  hundred  sittings. — Spirit  flowers. — 
Additional  witnesses. — ^Mr.  Livermore's  letter  to  author. 

CHAPTEH  Y. 

What  Apparitions  are  and  how  formed 502 

The  spiritual  body. — A  temporary  induement. — Spiritual  sculj)- 
ture. — ^An  imperfect  apparition  completed. 


BOOK    VI. 

SPmiTUAL  GIFTS  OF  THE  FIRST  CENTURY  APPEARING 
IN  OUR  OWN  TIMES. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Cures  by  Spiritual  Agency 510 

Christ's  mission, — Marquis  de  Guibert's  hospital. — Cure  through 
Leah  Fox. — The  instantaneous  cure — Insanity  cured  by 
spiritual  influence :  two  examples. 

CHAPTER  11. 

Other  Spiritual  Gifts 625 

Gifts  of  prophecy,  of  discerning  of  spirits,  of  tongues,  of  work- 
ing of  "  miracles,"  of  seeing  the  hidden  past,  all  exempMed 
in  our  day. — The  proleptic  gift. 


BOOK    VII. 

THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  MATTER. 

CHAPTER   I. 
Summary 530 

Roman  Catholic  argument. — An  altematiTC. — What  should  be 
discarded,  and  what  retained. 

CHAPTER   II. 

What    underlies    Christ's   teachings,    as    Foundation- 
motive 537 

When  comes  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ? — The  himger  and  thirst. 
— Christ  seeks  to  awaken  the  slumbering  love  of  the  Right. 
—- His  piomise,  on  conditions. — Questioning  the  unexpl<H^ 


INDEX. 


PAea 

Acts,  Ijuman,  all  entail  their  appropriate  results 112,  113 

Adventure,  Midnight,  in  the  Wolfridge  Wood 306-309 

Anglican  Church  makes  advances  to  Greek  Church. 219 

Animals  have  spiritual  perceptions 302-309 

Anomted,  The 266 

Apparition  immediately  after  death 288,  456 

Apparition  in  shining  raiment 474 

Apparition,  Subjective,  of  the  betrothed 440 

Apparitions,  Study  of,  important 454 

Apparitions,  My  own  erperience  touching 459-481 

Apparition,  an,  seen,  felt,  and  heard 462,  463 

Apparition  in  Boston:  plan  of  rooms  where  seen 475 

Apparitions  in  New  York :  seen  throughout  five  years  by  Mr. 

Livermore 482-499 

Apparitions,  what  they  are,  and  how  formed 502-608 

Apparition,  at  first  imperfect,  afterward  completed 508 

Atonement,  Vicarious,  according  to  Luther 84 

Augustine,  St.,  his  early  life  and  vast  influence 73 

Badh,  N.  G.,  his  dream,  415 ;  writing  by  impression 418 

Baltazarini,  Henry  III.  's  favorite  musician 429 

Bealings  bells 312-314 

Belief  neither  crime  nor  virtue 117 

Bell-ringiag,  unexplained,  Cluster  of  narratives  regarding. . ..     312-320 

Bells,  Satan  in  the,  scares  a  bell-hanger 310 

Bishop,  A  Catholic,  his  mistake 210 

Bumham  Green,  The  Lady  of 323 

Bums,  Robert,  his  compassion  for  the  devil 132 

Butler,  Apparition  of  a,  seen  by  Lord  Erskine 337 

Calvin,  his  consistorial  court  and  its  tyranny .•     128-131 

Calvin,  his  share  in  Servetus'  death 61,  62,  68 

Calvin,  his  doctrines 74-82 

Calvinism  and  Christianity  compared 102-105 

Canon  of  Scripture 191,  192 

Chambers,  Robert,  Test  suggested  by 362 

Children,  laws  condemning  them  to  death 131,  138,  139 

Christ,  his  office,  267  ;  his  birth,  269 ;  his  powers  conditional. . . .  271 
Christ  seeks  to  awaken  the  slumbering  love  of  the  Right. . . .  538,  539 
Christ's  teachings  :  what  underlies  them,  as  foundation-motive. . .     536 

Christ's  promise  touching  spiritual  gifts 197,  540 

Christian  morahty.  Master-principle  underlying 98-100 

Christianity,  profanations  of  its  name 100,  101 

Christianity  a  progressive  science 143 


XVIU  INDEX. 

PASB 

Christendom,  Chief  phases  of  religious  belief  in 214 

Cicero,  his  psychical  view  of  inspiration 249 

Clergy  ■  Position  of 24 

Compacts  with  devil :  Christ  did  not  believe  in  them. 203,  203 

Conscience,  the  supreme  interpreter 152,  153,  183 

Creeds  of  Christendom  :  table  of  chief  phases  of  belief 214 

Crucial  test  touching  an  apparition 485 

Cure,  instantaneous 517 

Cures  by  spiritual  agency 510-524 

Cures  by  magnetism  in  M.  de  Guibert's  hospital 513 

Cures  of  insanity  by  spiritual  influence 523 

D'Alembert,  his  scepticism  and  his  benevolence 88 

Darwin,  his  theory  discloses  no  liak  between  brute  and  man. .    262,  263 

Davis,  Mrs.  John,  example  of  spirit- writing 385 

Decree,  a  quaint  old  one,  indorsing  Calvin's  "  Institutes" 61 

Deism,  Simple,  ungenial  and  unsatisfactory 159,  160 

Demoniac  theory  unphHosophical  and  untenable 212-214 

Depravity,  Original,  Calvin's  ideas  on 75-77 

Devil,  Effect  of  belief  in 199,  210,  211 

Diderot,  his  opinions ;  imprisoned  for  teaching  them 88 

Disturbances,  Endemical,  throughout  one  hundred  years. . . .     326-333 

Doctrines  of  tJie  Reformers , . . . .     70-89 

Doctrines  to  be  discarded 534 

Doctriaes  to  be  retained 535 

Dog  under  the  wuidow,  305 ;  in  the  Wolfridge  Wood 306 

Domestic  invasion,  The 287 

Erskine,  Lord,  sees  apparition  of  his  father's  butler. 337 

Evil,  Glimpse  of  a  theory  of 187 

Evil  in  man  cannot  be  good  in  God. 119 

Faith,  Eational,  its  power  for  good 124 

Faith-article,  Great,  of  first  century 451-454 

Fashionable  lady's  logic  touching  apparitions. .  * 338 

Flowers,  Spiritual,  appear  and  disappear 493,  494 

Foster,  Charles,  powerful  test-medium 386-390,  443 

Fox,  Leah  and  Kate,  343  ;  Leah,  An  eventful  hour  with 460 

Foxj  Kate,  sittings  with  her,  354,  357,  375  ;  apparitions  seen 

through  her  mediumship,  during  &ve  years 482-499 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  his  eidolon  appears 491-493,  490 

Ghost,  A,  speaks 468 

Gifts,  Spiritual,  have  not  ceased,  161 ;  promised  by  Christ,  163 ; 

desirable,  164 ;  appear  in  patristic  times. 163 

Gift  of  tongues  in  1830 178 

Good  deeds  to  the  poor  and  helpless,  service  to  God 107 

Grandmother's  promise,  404 :  fulfilled 407 

Greek  Church 32  (note),  217-219 

Guldenstubbe,  Baron  de,  examples  of  spirit- writing 370-373 

HeU,  Theological  idea  of 126 

m.,  of  France,  last  of  the  Yalois 424 


INDEX.  XL% 

PAGK 

Some,  D.  Diinglas,  Sessions  with 391 

House-haunting,  Character  of  evidence  in  proof  of 331-334 

House-haunting,  Examples  of, 330-327,  357 

House  of  Mystery 325 

Humility,  True  basis  of 122 

Identity  of  Spirits,  Numerous  proofs  of 396-450 

Identity  of  Spirits,  A  case  of,  three  himdred  years  old 409-483 

ImmortaUty,  proof  of  it  the  great  desideratum 179,  194,  452 

Indifference  as  to  religion  ;  its  great  prevalence 158 

Infallibility,  Dogma  of,  43 ;  a  dangerous  popular  error 207 

Inf  aUibihty  utterly  untenable,  143-145  ;  no  danger  in  dispen- 
sing with  this  doctrine 146, 147 

Inspiration,  what  it  is,  242  ;  origin  of  aU  religions 169,  243 

Inspiration,  of  genius,  255  ;  poetical,  256  ;  musical 253 

Insanity  cured  by  spiritual  influence  523,  524 

Institutes,  Calvin's 74 

Intemperance,  Startling  statistical  item  concerning 110,  111 

Intervention,  Direct,  of  God  does  not  happen 185 

King  James'  instructions  to  translators  of  Bible 193 

Labor-power :  its  vast  increase  siace  1760 45 

Lady  of  Bumham  Green  :  midnight  adventure 323 

Law,  universal  and  unchangeable,  reign  of. 148-151 

Light,  suddenly  struck,  what  spiritual  phenomena  it  disclosed. . . .     358 

Livermore,  Mr.,  Ms  testimony  as  to  spirit- writing 384 

Livermore,  Mr. ,  his  experience  as  to  apparitions 482-499 

Livermore,  Mr.,  additional  witnesses  confirm  his  testimony 495 

Livermore,  Mr.,  his  letter  to  author 500 

Loyola :  his  character  and  influence 34 

Luigi,  Prince,  of  Naples,  Anecdote  of,  238  ;  his  experience 393 

Luminous  hand,  seeing  it  write 375-377 

Luther,  at  Worms,  48,  49;  at  Marburg,  50;  his  intolerance. . . .     51,  52 

Luther,  his  doctrine  of  vicarious  atonement 84r-86 

Luther,  his  ideas  on  charity  and  on  works 85,  86 

Luther,  his  free  opinions,  94 ;  rejects  St.  James 96 

Lutheranism  and  Christianity  compared 105 

Macaulay,  on  religious  progress 44,  142 

Magnetizer,  A  French,  his  alarm 250-251 

Maid  and  cook;  the  author's  first  experience  in  Spiritualism. . . .       282 

Marburg:  meeting  there  between  Luther  and  Zwingli 50 

Marie  de  Cleves,  ladie-love  of  Henry  I II. ,  of  France 427 

Marry  at,  Florence,  her  testimony  regarding  apparitions 331 

Marryat,  Captain,  his  midfiight  adventure 323,  324 

Materialism  found  to  be  cheerless  on  full  trial 190 

Mercy  not  sacrifice,  Christ's  doctrine 116 

Midnight  visitor,  A 296 

Miracles,  Opinions  on 148 

Miracles,  Christ  does  not  speak  of  them 163 

Miracles,  Ecclesiastical,  discredited  by  Protestants 166, 167 


XX  INDEX. 

PAOB 

Morality,  effect  of  certain  orthodox  doctrines  on 110 

Morgan,   Lady,   her    "  dog-ears-and-f olds "  explanation  of    the 

cause  of  alleged  apparitions , 838 

Moriscoes,  expatriation  of , 31 

Moving  ponderable  bodies  by  occult  agency 361-367 

Music,  old,  found  by  N.  G.  Bach,  fac-sinule  of 416 

Mystery,  The  house  of 325 

Numbers,  comparative,  of  Protestants  and  Catholics 31-33 

Number  of  Spiritualists 233-235 

Number  of  Quakers,  223 ;  of  Swedenborgians 228 

Opportunity,  A  golden,  lost  by  Catholic  Church 217 

Orthodox  theology  founded  on  two  of  Paul's  epistles 92,  93 

Parables  of  Christ  versus  doctrines  of  Reformers 103,  107 

Paralysis  of  motor  nerve  suddenly  cured 513 

Parchment,  Old,  autograph  of  Henry  III.  ;  fac-simile  of 420 

Persecution  of  early  Christians  :  its  effect 36 

Pope  and  Austrian  government  at  issue 218 

Possession,  in  Jesus'  day 200 

Predestination :  Calvin's  idea  of 77 

Problem,  The  great 184 

Proleptic,  or  prophetic  gift 526 

Protestants  applaud  Calvin's  part  in  Servetus'  death 69 

Protestantism  :  its  successes,  27 ;  its  reverses 30 

Protestantism,  Grand  truth  in : .  48 

Public  opinion  opposed  to  doctrine  of  the  infallible 189 

Puritans,  Calvinism  among,  134;  their  laws 135,  138,  139 

Quakers,  their  persecution  by  Puritans 135-137 

Quakers,  their  original  doctrines,  their  mistakes,  their  failure    221-224 
Questioning  the  unexplored 542 

Rappings,  spiritual,  see  Spirit-rap 342-360 

Reformers,  Doctrines  of 70-89 

Reformers,  the  world's  debt  to  them 140 

Renan,  whither  he  leads  us,  155 ;  his  Christianity 533 

Repentance  in  the  next  world,  Example  of 299 

Repentance,  mode  of  exit  for  ' '  spirits  in  prison  " 300 

Repentant  housekeeper,  The 297 

Right,  Hunger  and  thirst  after  the 537 

Rochester  Knockings,  see  Spirit-rap 342 

Roman  Catholic  argument 531 

Roman  CathoHcism :  its  gains  in  England,  32  ;  in  America 33 

Roman  Catholicism  :  its  reformation,  34 ;  its  doctrines 40-43 

I  Babbath  and  Lord's  Day,  according  to  Augsburg  Confession. . .     86,  87 

Salem  witchcraft :  its  origin  and  its  frightful  effects 206,  207 

Scape-goat,  The  Jewish,  involves  a  false  principle 115 

Scepticism  in  eighteenth  century 38 

Science  and  Spiritualism  need  differing  naodes  of  treatment.     278,  279 


INDEX.  XXI 

PAOH 

Scientific  reseaxch  resfndcted  by  Chtirch  of  Rome 43 

Scientific  tests  of  spiritual  phenomena  recently  obtained  in 

London 278,279 

Scottisli  Kirk :  its  tyranny 132,  133 

Secularism  gaining  ground,  215  ;  especially  in  England 216 

Senses,  Human,  are  they  untrustworthy  ? 380 

Servetus,  53  ;  his  creed,  54 ;  trial  and  death 64-68 

Sister  Elizabeth  :  example  of  ' "  discerning  of  spirits  " 401 

Socrates,  his  demon,  246 ;  his  opinions  on  Spiritualism 244-248 

Somnambulic  increase  of  intelligence 252,  253 

"  Son  of  God,"  True  interpretation  of 274,  275 

Song,  Original,  composed  by  Henry  III.  of  France 422,  423 

Soutiiey's  opinion  touching  the  use  of  spiritual  phenomena 333 

Spinet,  of  Baltazarini ;  engraving  of 413 

Spirit  arranging  its  earthly  affairs 397-400 

Spirit-hands  melting  away,  note 351,  352 

Spirit-rap,  the  proofs  of 342-360 

Spirit-raps  throughout  an  entire  house,  344 ;  on  the  water,  345 ; 

in  trees,  345 ;  on  a  sea-shore  ledge  of  rock 346,  347 

Spirit-raps,  seeing  them  made  by  a  luminous  hammer 348-351 

Spirit-raps,  in  phase  of  violent  poundings 353-359 

Spirit- touches,  examples  of,  391-395 ;  by  gas-light 395 

Spirit- writing,  fac-sinules  of 373,  373,  378,  383 

Spirit- writing.  Direct,  various  examples 369-389 

Spirit- writing  on  human  arm  and  hand,  Examples  of 386-390 

Spiritual  aid  needed 25 

Spiritual  body.  The 503 

Spiritual  gifts  of  our  own  time 525-528 

Spiritual  phenomena,  Southey's  opinion  as  to  their  use 333 

Spiritual  phenomena  sometimes  result  in  trifles 336-341 

Spiritual  phenomena,  their  universality 310-335 

Spiritual  sculpture,  472 ;  example  of 505 

Spiritualism,  Modem,  was  it  a  superstitious  epidemic? .' 311 

Spiritualism,  summary  of  its  doctrines 171-175 

Spiritualism  accords  with  Christianity 170 

Spiritualism  denounces  no  rehgion 177 

Spiritualism,  why  came  it  so  late  ? 198 

Spiritualism,  dangers  of,  when  unworthily  prosecuted 208,  209 

Spiritualism,  number  of  its  adherents 233-235 

Spiritualism,  how  it  should  be  studied 237-240 

Spiritualism,  an  unprecedented  step  in 264 

Spiritualism,  The  author's  first  experience  in 282-286 

Spiritualism  regarded  as  a  domestic  invasion 287 

Spiritualism,  Modem,  a  necessary  aid  to  Christianity 154-170 

Spiritualists,  Temporary  schism  among 235 

State  of  man  here  determines  his  state  hereafter 114,  172,  173 

Statement  of  subject      183 

Stationary  policy  impracticable 26 

Statistics  of  Protestantism  and  Catholicism 31-33 

Swedenborgianism,  its  grand  truths,  226 ;  its  grave  errors,  and 

consequent  failure 228-233 

Bwiss  officer,  what  befell  him 303 

Sword,  The,  does  not  explain  Catholic  successes , •  •      37 


XXU  INDEX. 

-^    PAGB 

Fable,  A  heavy,  suspended  in  tlie  air,  without  contact 363,  364 

Table,  A,  is  flung  into  the  air  and  rotates 365-367 

Terrible  power  exhibited  in  a  private  parlor. 366 

Tests,  typical  and  literal 443 

Titanic  steps  of  the  world 260,  261 

Toleration  unknown  in  sixteenth  century 70,  71 

Trance-speaking,  Involuntary,  example  of 291,  293 

Translations  of  Scripture 191 

Trifle,  A,  predicted 340 

Trubh,  A  grand,  in^Protestantism 48 

Violet,  an  English  lady :  episode  regarding  her,  434-450 ;  her  por- 
trait obtained,  448  ;  her  apparition 474 

Wesley  disturbances :  a  lesson  they  teach 212 

Westphalian  treaties 30 

What  befell  a  Swiss  officer 302 

Why  a  villa  was  sold  at  a  loss 295 

Witchcraft    caused   by  belief  in   devil,  201  ;    its  horrors, 

202;  inSalem 206,207 

Writing,  Spirit,  direct,  369  ;  on  human  arm  and  hand 886,  390 


THIS    VOLUME 

ON  A  SUBJECT  INTIMATELY  CONNECTED  WITH 

THE  PRESEOT  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  WORLD 

IS  DEDICATED 

TO    THE    PROTESTANT    CLERGY: 

TO  WHOM,  IN  WAY  OF  PREFACE,   THE  FOLLOWINO  BEMABKS 
JJ-RrV,  ADDRESSED. 


*'  To  every  thing  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to  every  purpose  undei 
the  heaven."— EccLESiASTES. 

For  every  man,  according  to  his  light  and  conviction,  there 
exists  a  certain  duty  to  society,  be  it  humble  or  elevated, 
evinced  in  words  or  in  daily  acts.  If,  after  jealous  watch  set 
on  motive  and  strict  diligence  in  probing  the  verity  and  weigh- 
ing the  worth  of  what  one  may  have  to  say,  the  convic- 
tion still  abides  that  it  ought  to  be  said,  one  may  be  unfaithful 
in  remaining  silent.  With  such  care  and  under  such  impres- 
sion I  tender  to  you  what  follows. 

My  work  has  this  one  claim,  at  least,  on  your  attention,  that 
what  is  therein  set  forth,  alloyed  with  misconception  and  cir- 
cumscribed by  short-sight  though  it  be,  has  been  written  relig- 
iously under  the  dictate  of  candor  and  of  conscience,  as  if 
every  word  were  to  be  laid  at  the  foot  of  the  Almighty's 
throne. 

You  will  admit  the  grave  importance  of  my  subjuct-matter, 


24  POSITION   OF   CLERGY. 

since  it  refers,  first  to  the  present  state  of  theology  and  the  re- 
ligious needs  of  the  world ;  incidentally  to  the  reality  of  plen- 
ary  inspiration ;  again,  to  the  character  of  what,  in  the  gospels 
and  epistles,  are  termed  sometimes  signs  and  wondei-s,  some 
times  spiritual  gifts ;  and,  finally  and  specially,  to  the  question 
whether  phenomena  analogous  to  these  have  come  to  light  in 
the  present  age. 

A  just  view  of  these  subjects,  vital  beyond  measure  as  they 
are,  is  unspeakably  essential  to  the  advancement  of  man's  spir- 
itual part.  It  is  to  you  we  may  properly  turn  for  this.  Your 
office,  in  itself  considered  and  looking  to  the  eminence  of  its  du- 
ties, is  the  highest  upon  earth ;  for  the  spiritual  part  is  the  man 
— is  and  will  be  in  other  phase  of  life  than  this.  You  ought 
to  be  the  leaders  of  mankind.  But  zeal,  learning,  and  the  sin- 
cerest  piety  even,  suffice  not  for  the  maintenance  of  such  a  posi- 
tion. As  the  world  grows  older,  the  letter  of  the  ancient  law, 
ecclesiastical  or  secular,  governs  less,  and  the  spirit  of  the  ago 
more.  They  only  can  lead  the  world's  advance  who  act  upon 
this  truth. 

A  layman,  inviting  your  attention  as  I  do,  has  this  apology . 
that,  within  the  immunities  of  your  churches,  you  are  not  fa- 
vorably situated  to  hear  outside  truth.  I  think  you  hear  less 
of  it. than  any  other  body  of  men.  It  is  a  privilege  fraught  with 
temptation  to  speak  once  a  week,  year  after  year,  secure  against 
challenge  or  reply :  for  it  tends  to  mislead  speaker  and  hearers 
alike.  Among  those  who  approach  you  the  greater  number 
mistake  submissive  acquiescence  for  respect:  but  the  best 
token  of  respect,  in  addressing  any  man,  or  any  class  of  men,  is 
outspoken  frankness  and  plain  dealing. 

The  common  result  of  your  position  is  to  restrict,  withiu  sec- 
tarian limits,  your  habitual  periscope.  And  thus  others,  trans- 
gressing routine  bounds,  may  have  come  upon  fields  of  research 
^hicl^i  you,  within  the  pale,  disparaging  them  as  barren,  never 
flee.  If,  for  example,  any  among  you  have  given  as  much  time 
and  thought  as  I  to  the  question  whether,  in  our  own  day  as  in 
times  gone  by,  denizens  of  another  world  occasionally  influence, 


SPIKITCAL   AID   NEEDED.  25 

for  good  or  evil,  the  concerns  of  this,  it  has  not  been  my  j.  jod 
fortune  to  know  it.  Yet,  discreetly  pursued,  there  is  no  in- 
quiry more  legitimate,  none  reaching  farther  in  its  ethical  and 
religious  results.  Nor  is  it  we,  pursuing  such  studies,  who 
should  defend  our  course :  it  is  they  that  neglect  them  who 
may  properly  be  called  upon  to  show  warrant  for  their  neglect. 

It  is  a  belief  justified  by  the  history  of  the  world  that  God 
permits  man  to  acquire  fresh  knowledge  in  measure  commen- 
surate %vdth  his  wants,  and  at  the  times  when  he  becomes  able 
to  bear  it.*  Every  age  has  its  special  needs,  industrial,  politi- 
cal, social,  spiritual.  I  think  there  are  strong  reasons  for  the 
opinion  that,  at  the  present  time,  we  lack,  to  sustain  wholesome, 
reformatory  faiths  and  to  correct  old  errors  that  have  been 
mixed  up  with  these,  direct  aid  from  spiritual  sources.  If  the 
history  written  by  the  Evangelists  be  a  record  with  any  valid 
claim  to  authenticity,  it  enters  into  God's  economy  to  grant 
unto  men,  at  certain  times,  such  aid.  It  is  a  question  of  fact 
to  be  decided  by  proper  evidence,  whether  He  is  supplying  it 
now.  Certain  it  is  that  the  historical  records  of  two  thousand 
years  ago,  standing  alone,  fail  to  bring  home  to  the  free-inquiring 
mind  of  to-day  the  same  convictions  which  they  wrought  in  our 
ancestors. f  Modern  belief  in  the  Unseen  urgently  needs  fresh- 
ening and  additional  support. 

This  will  appear  the  rather,  if  we  scan  dispassionately  the 
actual  position  of  the  religious  world ;  its  attitude  toward 
science  and  the  dilemma  in  which  it  finds  itself  whether  it  ac 
cepts  or  rejects  the  accredite<l  discoveries  of  the  day.  Tlie 
more  thoughtful  among   your  number   cannot  have  failed  to 

*  John  xvi.  12, 
f  "  Doubts  to  the  world's  child-heaxt  unknown 
Question  us  now  from  stax  and  stone ; 
Too  little  or  too  much  we  know, 
And  sight  is  swift  and  faith  is  slow  : 
The  power  is  lost  to  self -deceive 
With  shallow  forms  of  make-believe." 

Wblitiier  :  TTie  Meeting, 
% 


"26  A   STATIONARY    POLICY    IMPRACTICABLE. 

mark  the  signs  of  the  times.  They  must  feel  that  a  stationary 
policy  is  no  longer  practicable.  Scepticism  is  silently,  but 
surely,  undermining  once-popular  doctrines  :  tha  old  ground  ia 
giving  way  under  our  feet. 

Not  that  there  is  cause  for  alarm  except  to  those  who  think 
the  world  can  be  saved  by  dint  of  drag-chains  only.  E-eligion 
is  in  no  more  danger  of  subversion  than  are  the  eternal  hills  of 
sinking  away,  for  its  foundations  in  the  soul  are  firmer  than  theirs 
in  the  solid  earth :  but  opinions  that  cannot  stand  before  the 
world's  growth  must,  sooner  or  later,  be  subverted,  do  what  you 
will  in  their  defence.  It  is  in  vain  that  we  cling  to  antiquated 
perplexities  of  doctrine,  if  it  shall  prove  that  these  have  become 
as  much  out  of  place  under  the  lights  of  the  nineteenth  century 
a«  would  be  the  belief  of  five  hundred  years  ago  that  the  pil- 
kira  of  Hercules  marked  the  western  boundary  of  the  earth. 

Beyond   doubt  many  of  your  number  are  earnest  in  their 

qonvictions  that  what  they  deem  Orthodoxy  needs  no  spiritual 

influx  to  sustain  its  progress  or  rectify  its  errors ;  that  it  has 

no  unphiiosophical  spirit  to  be  reformed,  nor  any  pernicious 

fallacies  to  be  retracted.     But  if  they  are  right  in  this,  some 

^ro^blems  connected  with  the  history  of  Protestantism  are  of 

f  difficult  solution. 

*llude  to  certain  incidents  for  which  we  must  go  back  some 

vtee  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  which  connect  themselves 

with  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  gi-eat  Reformation — with  its 

jnderful  successes  and  its  remarkable  reverses — especially 
during  the  first  century  and  a  quarter  of  its  growth. 


§  2.  Successes  and  Reverses  of  early  Protestantism. 

It  was  on  the  tenth  of  December,  in  the  year  1520,  that 
brave  Martin  Luther  burnt  the  Papal  bull  of  excommunication 
which  Leo  X.had  reluctantly  launched  against  him.  Less  than 
half  a  century  passed — the  German  miner's  son  and  his  Medi- 
oean  opponent  both  having  died  the  while — and  the  spirit  of 


GKEAT    RUCGESSES.  27 

the  reformed  religion  had  spread  to  the  most  distant  and  ob- 
ficure  corners  of  Europe.  "What  an  immense  empire  had 
Protestantism  conquered  in  the  space  of  forty  years ! — an  empire 
reaching  from  Iceland  to  the  Pyrenees,  from  Finland  to  the 
summit  of  the  Italian  Alps."  * 

The  whole  of  that  vast  empire  had  not,  indeed,  gone  defini- 
tively over  to  the  new  fg.ith.  In  England,  Scotland,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Iceland,  Livonia,  Prussia,  Saxony,  Hesse,  Wiirtemburg, 
and  the  Palatinate ;  in  the  northern  Netherlands  and  in  several 
cantons  of  Switzerland  ;  the  Reformation  had  completely  tri- 
umphed :  while  throughout  France,  Belgium,  Bavaria,  Bohemia, 
Westphalia,  Austria,  Poland,  and  Hungary,  though  the  con- 
test remained  undecided,  the  tenets  of  Luther  or  of  Calvin 
had  taken  strong  hold  of  the  public  miad.  In  France,  for  ex- 
ample, the  reformed  doctrines,  in  their  Calvinistic  phase,  had 
invaded  every  province  of  the  kingdom;  in  Brittany  and  Nor- 
mandy, in  Gascony  and  in  Languedoc,  in  Poitou,  Touraine, 
Provence,  and  Dauphine,  a  majority  openly  professed  the 
Protestant  faith.  '*  Your  Highness,"  wrote  the  Venetian  am- 
bassador at  the  Court  of  France,  in  1561,  to  the  Doge,  "  may 
rest  assured  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  lower  classes  who 
still  zealously  frequent  the  churches,  all  the  rest  have  fallen 
away,  especially  the  nobles,  and  almost  without  a  single  excep- 
tion, the  men  under  forty."  He  says  further  that  not  only 
priests,  monks,  and  nuns  had  adopted  this  heresy,  but  even 
bishops  and  many  of  the  most  considerable  prelates ;  adding 

*  Ranke  :  Ecdesimtical  and  Political  History  of  the  Popes  of  Rome  in 
the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries.  Translated  by  Sarah  Austia, 
3  vols.  8vo,  London,  1840.     VoL  il-  p.  18. 

Lest  too  frequent  references  interrupt  this  brief  sketch,  I  omit  these, 
hoping  that  the  student  wiU  refer,  for  verification  of  my  narrative,  to 
the  work  itself,  one  of  the  most  interesting  contributions  to  history  thair 
has  appeared  during  the  present  century ;  or  if  he  prefers  a  compen- 
dium, he  may  consult  an  admirable  one  in  Macatday's  well-known  re- 
view of  Ranke's  work,  to  which,  a  few  pages  further  on,  I  have  alluded 
The  latest  edition  of  Ranke's  work  in  German  {Die  Bamischen  Pwpste] 
is  the  fourth,  Berlin,  1856. 


28  WIDESPREAD   REVOLUTION    OF   SENTIMENT. 

that  imprisonment,  stripes,  and  the  stake,  having  only  served  td 
aggravate  matters,  had  been  abandoned,  and  that  the  liberated 
prisoners  went  about  congratulating  each  other  that  they  liao 
won  the  battle  against  adversaries  whom  they  were  learning 
to  call  the  Papists.* 

In  Prussian  Poland,  the  right  of  the  chief  towns  to  the 
exercise  of  religion,  according  to  the  Lutheran  forms,  was  con- 
firmed by  express  charters  in  1557  and  1558  ;  while,  in  Po- 
land proper,  Protestants  even  obtained  possession  of  bishops' 
sees.  In  Hungary,  in  the  year  1554,  a  Lutheran  was  elected 
palatine  of  the  empire.  In  Bavaria  a  large  majority  of  the 
nobles  had  embraced  the  new  doctrines,  and  the  duke  himself 
occasionally  attended  Protestant  worship.  In  Austria,  the 
revolution  of  sentiment  was  still  greater  ;  the  nobles  studied  at 
Wittenberg,  under  professors  who  had  been  Luther's  disciples ; 
the  colleges  of  Austria  proper  were  filled  with  Protestants,  and 
it  was  asserted  that  about  a  thirtieth  f  of  the  inhabitants  only 
remained  faithful  to  the  Pope.  In  the  Netherlands,  the  dead- 
liest persecutions  failed  to  ejffect  their  object.  The  ferocity, 
scarcely  human,  of  Alva,  the  putting  to  death,  as  it  was  calcu- 
lated, of  thirty  thousand  Protestants  in  the  Low  Countries 
alone,  had  been  unavailing  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  new 
opinions.  Spain  and  Italy — themselves  not  without  taint  of 
heretical  doctrine — were  the  only  European  countries,  of  any 

*  MiCHELi.  These  details  will  be  found  in  his  Relazione  delle  cose  di 
Franda  Vanno  1561 .  I  have  held  strictly  to  his  expressions  :  "  glori- 
andosi,"  he  says,  "  che  aveano  guadagnato  la  hte  contra  i  Papisti,  cosi 
cMainavano  e  chiamano  li  loro  adversarii." 

A  foreign  minister  of  the  day  may  be  supposed  to  have  informed 
himself  carefully  on  such  matters,  and  one  representing  a  Catholic 
countey  was  more  likely  tc  underrate  than  to  over-estimate  the  progress 
of  the  Protestant  movement. 

•j  Macaulay  has  it  one  thirteenth.  In  the  latest  edition  of  Ranke's 
work  in  the  original  German  (vol.  ii.  p.  9),  I  find  it  tMrtieth,  as  above  : 
*'  Man  wollte  rcchnen'  dass  veilleicht  nur  noch  der  dreLizigste  Theilder 
Einwohner  Katholisch  geblieben  sei  :  "  doubtfully  expressed,  it  will  b« 
observed,  as  to  the  authority. 


PROSPECT  IN   1568.  29 

importance,  that  could  be  regarded,  after  a  struggle  of  half  9 
century,  as  still  loyal  to  the  Holy  See.* 

Kow,  if  we  imagine  a  man  of  fair  parts  and  competent  fore- 
sight, a  spectator  throughout  the  religious  struggle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  one  whose  convictions  coincided  with  those 
of  Luther  and  his  adherents ;  if  we  suppose  this  man,  when 
two-thirds  of  the  century  had  elapsed,  looking  narrowly  at  the 
changes  wrought  by  the  Reformation,  and  reflecting  upon  the 
probable  religious  future  of  Europe ;  what  must  have  been 
his  anticipations  ?  Can  we  doubt  liis  reasonable  conviction 
that  three  or  four  decades  more  would  witness  the  expiring 
throes  of  that  venerable  system  of  ecclesiastical  polity,  endowed 
with  more  than  antediluvian  vitality,  which,  from  the  Seven 
Hills,   had    stretched    its   spiritual   sceptre    over    the    world 

*  Some  of  the  most  reliable  Catholic  authors  of  that  day  may  be 
cited  in  proof  that  E-anke  has  not  exaggerated  the  situation.  Paolo 
Tiepolo,  spoken  of  by  his  contemporaries  as  a  man  of  good  head  and 
excellent  heart,  resided  nearly  three  years  as  Venetian  ambassador  at 
the  court  of  Pius  V.  He  was  there  in  1568,  and  has  left,  written  ia 
that  year,  a  small  work  entitled :  Relazione  di  Boma  al  tempo  di  Pio 
IV.  e  Pio  V.     Thence  I  take  the  following  : 

' '  Speaking  of  these  European  countries  alone,  which  were  wont  not 
only  to  yield  obedience  to  the  Pope,  but  also  to  conform  ia  all  their 
rites  to  the  customs  of  the  Roman  Church,  celebratiag  their  offices  ia 
the  Latin  tongue;  it  is  ascertaiaed  that  England,  Scotland,  Denmark, 
Norway,  Sweden — in  fine  aU  the  northern  countries — are  alienated 
from  him,  Germany  is  almost  entirely  lost ;  Bohemia  and  Poland  are 
In  great  part  infected ;  the  Low  Countries  of  Flanders  are  so  thoroughly 
corrupted,  that  even  under  the  remedies  (!)  which  the  Duke  of  Alva  feels 
compelled  to  employ  against  them,  they  will  hardly  return  to  their 
former  health.  Finally  France,  by  reason  of  these  bad  humors 
^questi  mal  humeri)  is  full  of  confusion.  Thus  it  appears  that  there 
remains  to  the  Pontificate  nothing  healthy  and  secure  (non  pare  che 
sia  restate  altro  di  sano  e  sicuro  al  pontefice)  save  only  Spaui  and  Italy 
and  a  few  islands,  together  with  certain  districts  in  Dalmatia  and 
Greece. " 

It  is  evident  that  in  Rome  itself,  in  1568,  Roman  Catholicism  wai 
held,  by  its  supporters,  to  be  in  imminent  danger  of  dying  out. 


30  WESTPIIALIAN    TKEATIES. 

throughout  a  longer  series  of  centuries  than  the  successors  ol 
Romulus  themselves  Imcl  ruled  from  tlie  Eternal  City? 

Yet  how  marvellously  wide  of  the  truth  were  such  expecta? 
tions,  then  cherished  by  millions  !  *  Eighty  years  passed  ;  the 
contest  had  been  waged  and  had  subsided;  and  in  1648  the 
lights  and  the  boundaries  of  the  rival  Churches  were  deter- 
mined by  treaty.  But  how  determined?  Of  the  European 
countries  which,  in  1568,  might  have  been  regarded  as  the 
Debatable  Land  of  theological  controversy,  every  one  without 
an  exception, — France  and  Austria  and  Belgium ;  Bavaria 
Bohemia,  Poland,  and  Hungary ;  even  Westphalia  where  the 
paititioning  treaties  were  signed f — had  fallen  back  into  the 
Roman  faith. |  Not  only  had  Protestantism  lost  them  all,  but, 
after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred  years  more,  she  has  never  re- 
gained oii^.  There  is  not  a  single  European  nation  that  is 
Protestani  to-day,  except  those  that  had  become  Protestant 
more  than  three  hundred  years  ago. 

We,  Christians  outside  of  the  Roman  faith,  have  much  to 
allege  in  reply.  We  claim  that  the  national  downfall  of  Spain 
from  a  proud  preeminence  was  mainly  due  to  the  influence  of 

*  By  Lnther  himself,,  among  them  He  said :  "  The  Pope  is  the  last 
blaze  hi  the  lamp,  which  will  go  out,  and  ere  long  be  extinguished,  the 
last  hastrument  of  the  devil." — Luther's  TaMe  Talk^  p.  196.  And 
again :  ' '  The  Pope  stands  like  a  tottering  wall  about  to  be  overthrown." 
— Same  wm'k^  p.  331 . 

f  Yet  Westphalia,  Uke  the  rest  of  Northern  Europe,  had  been  over- 
run, during  the  preceding  century,  by  Lutheran  doctrines.  The  town- 
council  of  Paderbom  had  been  Protestant ;  in  Munster  most  of  the 
priests  had  married ;  and  the  ruling  Duke,  William  of  Cleves,  appar- 
ently anxious  to  conciliate  both  parties,  had  received  the  sacrament  in 
bis  private  chapel,  sometimes  according  to  the  Catholic,  sometimes  ac- 
cording to  the  Protestant  form. 

X  I  would  avoid  the  use  of  the  terms  Roman  Church,  Romanism, 
Roman  Catholic — grating  to  the  ears  of  many  honest  believers  in  Papal 
infallibility — if  I  could  do  so  without  v^jrtually  admitting  the  claim  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  the  universal  Church.  CathoHcity  is  a  nec- 
esaaiy  element  of  any  Faith  that  is  to  become  the  religion  of  civilizur 
tion. 


EXPATEIATION    OF   MOEISCOES.  31 

ber  Catholic  Church;*  that  civUization  has  been  retarded  u. 
Italy  and  in  Ireland  by  similar  agency ;  and,  in  a  general  way, 
that  the  increase  of  wealth,  enten^rise,  and  intelligence  has  been 
g,.eater  north  of  the  boundary  established  by  the  peace  of  West- 
phalia  than  south  of  it:  nevertheless  the  geographical  frontier 
Itween  the  two  religions,  as  then  agreed  upon,  has  scarcely 
been  changed  at  all  from  that  day  to  this.  So  far  as  the  com- 
parative  numbers  of  Protestants  and  Eomanistshave  varied  since 
that  peace  was  made,  the  variation  has  been  xn  favor  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.f     Even  in  countries  the  most  thor- 

.  The  extermination  of  the  Albigenses,  even  the  St  Bartholomew 
massacres  dwindle  to  petty  proportion  before  the  giant  wrong  perpe- 
""  'the  instigation  of  the  Spanish  Church,  in  the  e-Pat-aUon  o 
the  Jforiscoes,  the  unhappy  remnant  of  the  Moorish  nation.     "About 
*nt  rnXn  rf  the  most  indnstiious  mhabitants  of  Spam  were  hunted 
::TiSwUd  beasts,  because  the  sincerity  of  then  "^S^- "P-^ 
was  doubtful."-BuCKLE,  Hum  of  CivOizaU^n  (f<ew  York  Ed.  im) 
vol  Tp  49      Countless  thousands  were  butchered  on  the  road  V, 
ImI^  "^and  hundreds  of  thousands  more  perished  when  cast  loose 
on Tsavage  coast,  by  the  swords  of  the  Bedouins  and  by  famme  m  the 
deserl     The  scarWcredible  particulars  of  '^^"^  ""^•''^^^t 
of  the  rum^,  Spanish  prosperity  and  power  that  foUowed  i^  w^he 
found  with  ample  authentication,  in  the  chapter  from  winch  I  have 
oTted     Never  was  nation  so  terribly  =md  so  speedily  punished  a« 
IpaSfor  one  of  thegreatest  crimes  ogamst  humanity  ever  perpetrated 
by  a  people  clainung  to  be  oivihzed. 

See   for  a  few  important  words  m  this  comiection,  Barwrns  Be- 

the  yL  1868-out  of  toe  total  population  of  the  world,  numbermg 

1.375,000,000-  .195,434,000 

Total  number  of  Cathohos ICO  835  000 

Total  number  of  Protestants ltO,!«o,UUU 

And,  in  Europe,  the  totals  for  the  same  year  were : 

Total  numberof  catholics     '"^^^ 

Total  number  of  Protestants '       '  . 

More  than  «»<-  CatIwUc.,it  wiU  be  observed,  to  nery  Protectant,  m 

"^di-the  CathoUcs  proper  (who  alone  are  reckoned abo«), 


ol:  ESTKOADS   OF   SOMjLNISM   IN   GEEAT   BEITAIN 

oughly  Protestant  and  in  our  own  times,  the  inroads  of  Cathol 
icism  on  the  prevailing  faith  have  been  such  as  must  arouse^ 
in  thoughtful  minds,  grave  reflections.  In  a  third  of  a  ccn^ 
tury,  to  wit  from  1833  to  1867,  the  number  of  Catholic  churchoi 
in  Great  Britain  had  more  than  doubled,  while  the  number  cA 
Catholic  seminaries  had  increased  upward  of  five-fold.  Up  to  the 
year  1833 — the  year  when  the  great  Tractarian  movement  had 
birth  in  Oxford — there  was  not  in  the  British  Isles  a  single  con- 
vent or  one  Catholic  school :  but  within  thirty-four  years  there- 
after there  were  founded  in  Great  Britain  nearly  three  hundred 
of  the  former,  and  nearly  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  latter. 
Surely  a  very  noteworthy  progress  made  in  the  present  age  and 
in  the  most  Protestant  country  of  the  world,  by  the  Church  of 
Rome !  * 

But  it  is  in  our  own  country,  above  every  other,  that  the 
recent  gains  of  Pomanism  upon  Protestantism  are  the  most  re- 
markable. At  the  close  of  the  two  centuries  and  a  half  that 
elapsed  from  the  first  settlement  of  Virginia  to  the  year  1859, 
the  number  of  Catholics  in  the  United  States  had  run  up  to  two 

there  are  the  members  of  the  Eastern  phase  of  Catholicism,  agxeemg 
with  the  Western  in  a  general  way,  even  on  the  subject  of  the  infallible 
authority  of  the  Church,  except  that  they  restrict  that  infaUible  au- 
thority to  the  CEcumenical  Councils.  (Hagenbach's  History  )f  Doc- 
trines^ vol.  ii.  p.  234.)  In  18G8  they  outnumbered  the  Protestants  in 
Europe,  there  being,  in  that  quarter  of  the  world — 

Total  included  in  Greek  and  other  Eastern  Churches . . .  o9, 782,000. 

At  the  present  time,  therefore,  less  tlmn  one  fourth  ^j  the  Ghristians 
in  Europe  are  Protestant. 

For  these  and  other  details  see  Schem's  Ecclesiastical  Almanac  ioi 
18G9  (noticed  in  a  subsequent  note),  pp.  81,  82,  etc. 

*  In  the  Report  for  the  year  1867-8  of  the  Scottisli  Reformation 
Society  (founded  in  Scotland,  in  1850,  to  ''resist  the  aggressions  ol 
Catholicism"),  tables  are  given,  showing  the  exact  numbers,  which  suia 
up  as  follows : 

Churches.      Convents.  ^^^^SrS^     Schools. 

In  1 833  there  were 497    none.     3     none. 

^' 1SG7  ''   "  1,143    294     16      442 


AND   IN    THE   UNITED   STATES.  33 

milKons  and  a  half  only  :  but  at  the  end  of  the  nine  years  that 
succeeded  (namely  in  1868),  that  number  had  doubled. 
Twelve  years  ago  they  were  but  a  twelfth  part  of  our  popula« 
tion  ;  to-day  they  constitute,  probably,  more  tban  a  seventh. 

If  we  suppose  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  Christian  Churchy 
respectively,  to  go  on  increasing  among  us  at  the  same  ratic 
for  four  terms  of  nine  years  each  from  1868,  the  Catholics  of 
the  United  States  would,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  exceed  t}i6 
Protestants  in  number  by  several  millions.* 

How  wonderful,  if  one  admits  that  Reason  and  Scripture 
were  on  the  side  of  the  Reformers,  is  all  this  !  From  the  usual 
Protestant  standpoint,  how  beset  with  difficulties  in  explana- 
tion ! 


§  3.  Inadequate  Causes  suggesting  themselves. 

Some  minor  causes  bearing  on  this  ebb  and  flow  of  opinion, 
yet  accessory  only,  one  readily  perceives.  The  startling  prog- 
ress of  the  Lutheran  movement,  even  during  the  first  decado 
or  two,  convinced  the  astute  Court  of  Rome,  that  thorough 

*  Schem's  "  Ecclesiastical  Year-book  "  for  1860,  and  his  Ecclesiastical 
Almanac  for  1869,  both  published  in  this  country  by  a  most  pains- 
taking German  statistician,  professor  of  Hebrew  in  Dickinson  College, 
have  the  well-earned  reputation  of  being  the  most  trustworthy  docu- 
ments extant  among  us  on  the  subject  of  modem  religious  statistics. 
In  the  first  of  these  (at  page  14)  I  find 
Number  of  Protestants  in  the  United  States  in  1859. . .  31,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics  in  the  United  States  in  1859 2,500,000 

And  in  the  second  (at  page  81) 

N  amber  of  Protestants  in  the  United  States  in  1868. . .  27,000,000 

Number  of  Cathohcs  in  the  United  States  in  1868 5,000,000 

Showing  that  the  Cathohcs  had  increased,  in  the  nine  years  from  1859 
to  1868,  one  hundred  per  cent.,  while  the  Protestants  had  increased,  in 
the  same  time,  less  tlmn  twenty -nine  per  cent. 

Those  who  will  verify  the  calculation  of  future  increase,  supposing  it 
to  continue  at  the  same  relative  ratio  for  four  terms  of  nine  years  each, 
commencing  with  the  year  1868,  wiU  find  that  in  1904,  that  is  in,  thirty' 


34  EEFOEMATION   IN   CHURCH   OF   KOME, 

reformation  witliin  could  alone  enable  it  to  resist  the  gi^nl 
Reformation  without.  This  conviction  showed  itself  in  tha 
changed  character  of  thft  Pontiffs  chosen.  Before  the  standard 
of  heresy  was  raised  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  it  had  been  a 
Sixtus  IV.,  with  his  inhumanity  and  his  unblushing  nepotism  ; 
aii  Alexander  YI.,  with  his  sensuality,  and  those  children  of 
his,  the  infamous  Borgias  ;  at  best,  the  elegant  luxury  and  lav 
ish  prodigality  of  a  Leo  X.  But  when  the  storm  from  Witten 
berg  swept  over  the  land, '  and  the  time  of  need  came,  then 
there  succeeded  to  these  the  corrective  influence  of  such  men  a? 
I^aul  III.,  earnest,*  intelligent,  and  sagacious,  and  Paul  IV. 
austere,  impulsive,  inflexible,  and  ruled  by  a  single  devotion, 
that  of  restoring  to  its  primitive  puiity  the  ancient  faith.  And 
more  home-reaching  than  the  power  of  any  Pope  was  the  influ- 
ence of  a  manf  as  remarkable  in  his  way  as  the  great  Reformer 
himself ;  unlike  him  as  one  man  could  well  be  to  another,  yet  a? 
fiercely  in  earnest,  as  indissolubly  wedded,  body  and  soul,  tc 
one  idea.  As  Luther  was  the  animating  spirit  of  the  reforma- 
tory movement,  so  was  Loyola  of  the  reactionary  one.  And, 
for  a  time,  the  sway  exercised  over  the  religious  mind  of  Eu- 
rope and  its  deiiendencies,  by  the  Spaniard,  with  his  intensity 
and  his  asceticism,  was  little  less  than  that  which  the  stubborn 
aud  warm-hearted  German  exerted. 

three  years  from  to-day ^  there  would  be  eighty  millions  of  Catholics  to 
le^s  tlian  seventy-five  millions  of  Protestants,  in  the  American  Union. 

It  is  very  far  from  being"  my  belief  that  any  such  result  is  compatible 
with  the  spirit  of  God's  economy  and  the  ceaseless  march  of  human  prog- 
ress. But  to  avert  it,  some  rehgious  influences  that  have  been  at 
work  for  three  hvmdred  years  must  undergo  radical  change. 

*  This  Pontiff,  expressing  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  in  1537,  his  de- 
termination to  carry  out  internal  reform  in  the  Church,  writes  :  "  Sara 
con  effetto,  e  non  con  parole."     It  was  to  be  in  deeds,  not  words. 

f  Ignatius  Loyola's  pubhc  career  commenced  twenty  years  later  than 
Martin  Luther's.  The  buU  estabHshing  the  new  Order  was  granted,  at 
Loyola's  earnest  instance,  by  Pope  Paul  III. ,  in  1540.  The  Order  of 
JeMRs  was  suppressed  in  1773,  but  restored  in  1814  :  in  each  case  by 
Papal  authority. 


WITH    ITS   DRAWBACKS.  85 

These  tilings  are  to  be  taken  into  account ;  but  do  we  find  in 
L.  tm  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  ?  If  the  vices  of  tha  Papacy 
were  weeded  out,  its  errors  of  opinion  remained.  If  Popes 
like  the  third  and  fourth  Paul  and  Pius  V.,  and  Gregory 
XIII.,*  sustained  the  honor  and  the  cause  of  the  Catholic 
Church  :  if  Loyola  and  his  coadjutors  gave  to  it  their  foi-tune? 
and  their  lives,f  were  there  not,  opposed  to  these,  Luther  and 
Calvin  and  Melancthon  and  Zwingli,  and  a  host  of  other  apostlea 
of  the  Reformation,  as  able  and  as  devoted  workers  as  any  of 
which  Catholicism  could  boast  ? 

The  sword,  indeed,  was  used  against  the  innovators  :  but  per- 
secution, unless  its  severity  tend  toward  extermination,  is  in- 

*  The  last  two,  however,  Pius  and  Gregory,  with  the  drawback  of 
an  inhuman  spirit  of  persecution.  Pius  V.  complained  that  the  leader 
of  the  French  Catholics,  Count  Santafiore,  failed  to  obey  the  command 
he  had  given  him  to  take  no  Huguenot  prisoner,  but  "  instantly  to  kill 
every  heretic  that  fell  into  his  hands."  Here  are  his  biographer's  own 
words  :  "  Pio  si  dolsi  del  Conte  che  non  avesse  il  comandamento  di  lui 
osservato  d'  ammazzar  subito  qualunque  heretico  gli  fosse  venuto  all<j 
manl" — Vita  di  Pio  V.,  by  Catena. 

When  the  news  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  (1573)  reached 
Gregory  XIII, ,  he  celebrated  that  great  event  by  a  solemn  procession  to 
San  Luigi.  I  can  find  no  foundation  for  the  apology,  sometimes  offered 
by  Catholics  for  this ;  namely,  that  Gregory  was  ignorant  at  the  time, 
that  it  was  a  general  massacre.  It  is  incredible  that  a  religious  move- 
ment involving  the  death,  it  is  said,  of  fifty  thousand  heretics  (Ranke, 
Histor.  Polit.  Ztitschrift^  II.  iii.),  should  not  have  been  known  in  its 
trae  character,  and  at  the  earliest  day,  to  so  well-served  and  well-in- 
formed a  court  as  that  of  Rome ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  the 
Romish  Church  has  always  held  it  a  right  and  a  duty  to  suppress  heresy, 
if  need  be,  by  the  death-penalty. 

f  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  also,  that  the  stem  discipline  and  incisive 
austerity  of  the  order  of  Jesus  faded,  ere  long,  into  a  spirit  of  compro- 
mise with  the  vices  and  even  the  crimes  of  the  age.  Speaking  of  the 
Jesuits  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Ranke  says:  "  The 
Bpirit  which  once  animated  them  had  fallen  before  the  temptations  and 
mfluences  of  the  world,  and  their  sole  endeavor  now  waa  to  make 
themselves  necessary  to  mankind,  let  the  means  be  what  they  might. 
.    .  .    The  secret  operations  of  that  awful  tribunal  whidbi  Is  established 


36  PERSECUTION    AXD   THE    SWOED 

sufficient,  if  unaided  by  mental  and  moral  agencies,  to  arrest  a 
reformatory  movement  so  powerful  and  widespread  as  was  that 
of  Lutlieranism  in  1570.  It  proved  insufficient  in  the  early 
ages  to  check  a  weaker  sect,  the  primitive  Christians ;  although, 
under  Deciiis  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  and  yet  more 
especially  fifty  years  later  under  Dioclesian  and  Galerius,  i1 
showed  itself  in  forms  of  death  and  of  torture  marked  by  a 
ferocity  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  martyr? 
in  those  days,  greedy  of  death  as  the  surest  entrance  to  heaven 
denounced  themselves,  by  hundreds,  to  the  authorities ;  *  and 
tlieir  religious  teachers  found  it  necessary  to  exert  their  utmost 
authority  in  order  to  check  this  species  of  self-immolation. 
Th3  spirit  of  the  new  religion  passed  unquenched  through  the 
tieiy  trial. 

The  counter-revolution  which  set  in  toward  the  close  of  the 
sixteenth  century  was  evidently  a  recoil  of  opinion  far  more 
than  a  repression  by  force.  Outside  of  Spain  and  Italy,  no 
authority  to  the  Inquisition  was  conceded^  after  the  date  of  the 
Reformation,  by  temporal  sovereigns ;  Spain  was  the  chief 
scene  of  its  horrors.f     Nor  can  we  ascribe  to  victories  in  the 

in  the  inmost  depths  of  the  heart  of  man  were  thus  changed  into  mere 
outward  acts.  A  slight  turn  of  the  thoughts  was  held  to  exonerate 
from  all  gmlt:'— History  of  the  Popes,  III.  pp.  139,  143. 

*  If  TertulHan  may  be  trusted,  the  entire  population  of  a  small 
town  in  Asia  presented  themselves  before  the  proconsul,  proclaiming 
then-  faith  in  Christianity  and  entreating  him  to  carry  into  effect  the 
Imperial  decree  and  put  them  all  to  death.  When,  partially  acceding 
to  their  supplication,  he  had  executed  a  few  and  dismissed  the  rest, 
these  departed  bitterly  grieving  that  they  had  been  deemed  unworthy 
of  the  glorious  martyr-crown, 

f  The  number  of  victims  who  suffered  under  the  Spanish  Inquisi- 
tion ivill  never  be  accurately  known,  yet  it  was  undoubtedly  greater 
than  that  of  all  the  martyrs  under  the  Pagan  persecutions  of  the  first 
three  centuries.  It  is  to  be  conceded  that  the  Protestant  faith  was  ac- 
tually crushed  out  of  existence  in  Spain,  by  the  death  of  obdurate  her- 
etics and  the  extremity  of  terror  in  the  survivors.  At  one  time,  about 
1558,  "  there  were  converts  in  almost  all  the  towns  and  in  many  of  the 
villages  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Leon." — (McCkie,  Reformation  in 


AKE   ^SUFFICIENT   EXPLANATIONS.  37 

field  the  losses,  in  converts  and  in  territory,  of  the  Reformers. 
When  the  war  waged  by  the  Smalcalde  League  of  Protestants 
against  Charles  V.  was  terminated  by  Alva's  victory  at  Miihl- 
berg,*  that  seemingly  disastrous  defeat  scarcely  at  all  arrested 
the  progress  of  the  new  faith.  Even  to  the  terrible  night  of  St. 
Bartholomew  and  the  horrors  that  succeeded  it,  though  for  the 
time  they  undoubtedly  crushed  hope  and  spirit  among  the 
Huguenots,  we  cannot  trace  the  state  of  feeUng  which  prevailed 
throughout  France,  twenty  years  after  the  massacre,  when  Henry 
IV.,  Protestant  and  fearless  soldier  as  ho  was,  finding  himself 
about  to  be  deserted  even  by  the  most  gallant  of  those  Hugue- 
not nobles  whose  swords  had  won  for  him  the  battle  of  Ivry, 
was  fain  to  abjure  his  religion  in  order  to  secure  a  throne.f 

No.  Neither  fortune  of  arms  nor  suffering  by  persecution  ; 
neither  the  serpent-wisdom  of  an  Order  of  which  the  members 
were*  all  things  to  all  men,  nor  the  cleansing  of  those  sham.eless 
corruptions  which  had  so  scandalized  the  Augustinian  monk, 
Martin  Luther,  when  in  1510  he  visited  degenerate  Home — not 
any  one  of  these  incidents,  nor  all  of  them  combined,  can  be 
accepted  as  even  plausible  explanation  why  Protestantism, 
itfter  virtually  conquering  three-fourths  of  Europe  in  one  half 
dentury,  lost,  in  the  next  eighty  years,  full  one-half  of  all  she 
had  gained. 

Lost,  and  never  recovered  it ;  not  after  ten  generations  had 
passed  ;  not  down  to  the  present  day. 

Spain^  London,  1829,  p.  231.)  A  Catholic  historian  (Parajio,  Hist. 
Inquisitiones) ,  says  :  "  Had  not  the  Inquisition  taken  care  in  time,  the 
Protestant  rehgion  would  have  run  throug-h  Spain  like  wildfire."  But 
that  wary  institution  took  the  alarm  in  1558  ;  the  fi.rst  auto-da-fe  waa 
celebrated  May  21 ,  1559,  at  Valladolid,  in  presence  of  Don  Carlos  and 
the  Queen  Dowager ;  and  ere  five  years  had  passed.  Protestantism  was 
literally  exterminated,  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  Atlantic. 

*  In  1547. 

+  '•  Even  the  Protestant  clergy  had  the  wisdom  to  exhort  the  king, 
(Henry  IV.)  to  return  into  the  bosom  of  the  CathoUc  Church.  Calvin- 
ism, by  the  burdensome  austerities  of  its  moral  censures,  finished  by 
'osiug  its  attraction  for  the  nobles." — G-ervtnds:  Introduct^/m  to  Hi» 
wy  of  Nir:!  ■^-    -jrdury.VV  47,48 


53  SCEPTICAL   REVOLUTION   OF    EIGIiTEENTH,    AND 

If  still  there  lingers  in  your  minds  a  doubt  whether  cne  is 
justified  in  concluding  that  the  reactionary  movement  dating 
from  1570  cannot  be  explained,  as  the  result  of  incidental  and 
extraneous  agencies ;  or  if  you  fall  back,  perhaps,  on  the  posi- 
tion that  the  Reformation  was  premature  in  so  rude  a  century 
as  the  sixteenth ;  then  I  pray  you  to  interpret  another  episode 
in  the  history  of  the  Lutheran  movement,  occurring  two  hur 
dred  years  after  Luther's  time. 

An  episode  connected  with  the  days  of  the  French  encyclo 
pedists,  when  Voltaire  derided;  when  D'Alembert  and  Did- 
erot wrote ;  when  Paine  discoursed  of  an  age  of  reason,  and 
Volney  of.  the  ruin  of  empires.  In  those  days  men  witnessed, 
some  with  amazement  and  terror,  some  with  exultation,  what 
seemed  a  concerted  attack  upon  all  that  was  most  ancient  in 
opinion,  and  all  that  is  usually  held  most  sacred  in  religion.  Let 
Macaulaj^,  who  has  graphically  described  this  uprising  of  scepti- 
cism, often  allied  with  talent  and  learning,  sometim.es  with  phi- 
lanthropy, briefly  sum  up  to  us  the  result : 

"  During  the  eighteenth  century  the  influence  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  was  constantly  on  the  decline.  Unbelief  made  exten- 
sive conquests  in  all  the  Catholic  countries  of  Europe,  and  in 
some  countries  obtained  a  complete  ascendency.  The  Papacy 
was  at  length  brought  so  low  as  to  be  an  object  of  derision  to 
infidels,  and  of  pity  rather  than  of  hatred  to  Protestants.* 
During  the  nineteenth  century  this  fallen  Church  has  been 
gradually  rising  from  her  depressed  state  and  reconquering  her 
old  dominion.  No  person  who  calmly  reflects  on  what,  within 
the  last  few  years,f  has  passed  in  Spain,  in  Italy,  in  South 
America,  in  Ireland,  in  the  Netherlands,  in  Prussia,  and  even 
in  France,  can  doubt  that  her  power  over  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  men  is  now  greater  than  it  was  when  the  *  Encyclopedia ' 

*  Ranke's  history  fully  bears  out  Macaulay's  view  of  the  situation. 
After  giving'  the  particulars  of  the  death,  in  France,  of  the  aged  and 
deposed  Pius  VI.,  in  August,  1799,  he  adds  :  "  In  fact  it  seemed  as  if  th« 
papal  power  was  now  forever  at  an  end." — ^vol.  iii.  p.  226. 

f  This  was  written  in  1840. 


CENtPEIES.      39 

anil  the  *  Philosophical  Dictionary '  appeared.  It  is  surely 
remarkable  that  neither  the  moral  revolution  of  the  eighteenth 
CBntury,'  nor  the  moral  counter-revolution  of  the  nineteenth, 
should,  in  any  perceptible  degree,  have  added  to  the  domain  of 
I'rotestantism.  During  the  former  period  whatever  was  lost 
to  Catholicism  was  lost  also  to  Christianity  ;  during  the  latter, 
whatever  was  regained  by  Christianity  was  regained  also  by 
Catholicism.  We  should  naturally  have  expected  that  many 
minds,  on  the  way  from  superstition  to  infidelity,  or  from  in- 
fidelity back  to  superstition,  would  have  stopped  at  an  inter- 
mediate point.  .  .  .  We  think  it  a  most  remarkable  fact 
that  no  Christian  nation  which  did  not  adopt  the  principles  of 
the  Reformation  before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  should 
ever  have  adopted  them.  Catholic  communities  have,  since 
that  time,  become  infidel  and  become  Catholic  again,  but  none 
have  become  Protestant."* 

Macaulay  is  right.  All  this  is  most  remarkable.  He  to 
whom  it  supplies  not  theme  for  earnest  meditation  must  be 
very  careless,  or  very  contracted  in  circle  of  thought. 


§  4.    How   EXPLAIN   THE    FOREGOING   EPISODES  ? 

All  that  has  been  said  and  bedeved  of  human  progress — how 
mighty  Truth  is,  how  Sure  to  prevail  over  Error — is  it  pure 

♦Macaulay's  Essays,  New  York  Ed.  of  1856,  vol.  iii.  pp.  339, 
340.  The  extract  is  from  his  celebrated  review  of  Ranke's  History  of 
the  Popes,  an  admirable  essay,  rather,  on  the  Reformation  and  its  ebb- 
ings  and  flowings,  and  its  results.  I  am  compelled  to  differ  from  IVIa* 
caulay's  inferences,  while  I  admire,  and  in  part  have  followed,  his  mafw 
fcerly  array  of  facts. 

It  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  in  connection  with  the  reactionary 
movement  in  favor  of  Cathohcism  above  spoken  of  as  occurring  during 
the  early  portion  of  the  present  century,  that  the  terrors  of  the  Inqui 
Bition  had  notliing  to  do  in  bringing  it  about. 


iO  ABSTRACT   OF   ROMAN    CATHOLIO   DOCTRINES. 

fxble  ?  Or  are  we  to  believe  that  it  is  not  against  Error  tliat 
Protestantism  is  losing  the  battle  ? 

We  have  had  recent  official  reminders  what  some  of  th« 
claims  of  Roman  Catholicism  are.  That  Christ  himself  haa 
invested  the  Pope  with  full  authority  to  rule  and  govern  th<* 
Universal  Church;  that  the  Pope  may  properly  issue  decrees^ 
by  his  assured  knowledge,  by  his  own  impulse  and  by  the  ful- 
ness  of  his  apostolic  power ;  that  such  decrees  shall  remain  in 
force  in  all  time  to  come,  and  shall  never,  on  any  plea,  be  re- 
voked, or  limited,  or  questioned,  even  though  an  (Ecumenical 
Council,  including  the  college  of  Cardinals,  unanimously  con- 
sents to  their  revocation.* 

Other  claims,  asserted  and  maintained  by  the  Church  of 
Rome,  may  be  culled   from  equally  authentic   sources.f     The 

*  See,  in  confirmation,  the  "  CJonstitution "  issued  by  the  present 
Pope,  under  date  of  December  4,  1869,  to  provide  for  the  contingency 
of  his  death  during  the  recent  CEcumenical  Council.  It  affirms  that 
' '  to  the  Roman  Pontiffs  .  .  .  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  gave  the  full 
power  to  feed,  rule,  and  govern  the  Universal  Church."  The  Pope 
then  goes  on  to  declare  :  "  Of  our  certain  knowledge,  our  motion,  and 
in  the  plenitude  of  our  Apostolic  power,  we  decree  and  ordain,"  etc., 
(giving  details,  excluding  the  council  from  all  share  in  the  election  of 
a  Pope,  and  declaring  null  and  void  whatever  they  may  do,  until  a 
successor  to  the  Papal  chair  shall  be  so  chosen).  Then  he  proceeds : 
' '  This  decision  must  not  be  questioned,  attacked,  refuted,  invalidated, 
retracted,  legally  revoked,  or  submitted  to  discussion.  .  .  .  We 
declare  null  and  void  whatever  shall  be  done  to  the  contrary,  during  the 
vacancy  of  the  Apostolic  See,  by  any  authority  whatever,  whether  by 
the  authority  of  the  Council  of  the  Vatican,  or  of  any  other  CEcumenical 
Council ;  even  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Cardinals  that  now 
are,  or  at  any  future  time  may  be,"  And  the  document  winds  up  by 
proclaiming  that  whoever  shall  "  call  in  question  this  our  declaration, 
decree,  and  will,"  or  shall  "dare  to  infringe  them,"  or  shall  "make 
such  an  attempt,"  "let  him  know  that  he  incurs  the  indignation  of 
Almighty  God  and  of  the  blessed  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul." — Transla- 
tion made  for  the  (London)  Vatican,  and  officially  published  in  the 
(New  York)  CatlioUc  Register  of  January  22,  1870. 

f  As  from  the  Canons  and  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  which 
commenced  its  sessions  in  December,  1545,  twenty-five  years  after  tha 


ABSTEACT   OF  EOMAN   CATHOLIC  DOCTRINES.  41 

an  written  traditions  of  the  "  Holy  Catholic  Church,"  as  having 
been  handed  down  to  it  from  Christ,  are  to  be  received  with 
the  same  veneration  as  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  of  which  last  the 
Vulgate  is  the  only  authorized  translation.*  Tradition  is  to  be 
received  because  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells  perpetually  in  the 
Church  ;  the  Vulgate,  because  the  Church  of  Rome,  which 
adopts  it,  has  been  kept  free  from  all  errors  by  the  special 
grace  of  God.  The  seven  sacraments  f  are  divinely  ordained ; 
they  are  referred  to  Christ,  since  the  institutes  of  the  Church  oi 
Christ  are  communicated  to  that  Church  not  by  Scripture 
alone,  but  by  tradition.  Justification  is  not  to  be  obtained  by 
faith  alone.  The  sinner  is  justified  (so  the  Council  of  Trent 
voted),  "  through  the  merit  of  the  most  sacred  passion  and  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  .  .  .  While  man  obsei-vea 
the  commands  of  God  and  the  Church,  by  the  help  of  faith  and 
through  good  works,  he  gi'ows  in  righteousness  and  is  justified 
more  and  more."  J  Justification,  however,  cannot  dispense 
with  the  sacraments,  by  which  it  either  begins,  or  when  begun 
is  continued,  or  when  lost  is  regained.]  All  religious  instruc- 
tion, all  interpretation  of  Scripture,  must  be  given  by  ecclesias- 
tical authority  aloiie.^     The  visible  Church  is  also  the  true 

outbreak  of  the  Reformation.  These  documents  {Canones  et  Decretm 
CondlU  Tridmtini^  Roma,  1564)  were  passed  chiefly  during  Sessions 
iv.  to  vii. ,  xiii. ,  xiv. ,  and  xxi.  to  xxv.  They  will  be  found  in  the  HU^U- 
Ha  M  Concilio  Tndmtmo,  by  Saijpi,  1629.  The  Profes»io  Fidei  Tri- 
dentincB,  drawn  up  (a.d.  1564)  by  order  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  embodies 
them.  It  was  subscribed  by  all  candidates,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  as  having  settled,  for 
Roman  Catholicism  as  against  the  Protestant  heresy,  all  the  chief 
points  of  doctrine.  In  Sarpi's  work  (at  page  241  and  elsewhere)  will 
be  found  discussions  on  these  matters, 

*  Condi.  Trident,  Sessio  IV. 

f  Namely:  1.  Baptism;  2.  Confirmation;  3.  The  Eucharist ;  4.  Pen- 
ance ;  5.  Orders  ;  6.  Marriage ;  7.  Extreme  Unction.  Luther  and  Melanc- 
thon  were  inclined  to  add  to  the  two  usual  Protestant  sacraments  (t« 
wit,  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper)  a  third,  that  of  Penance. 

t  Sarpi  :  Sessio  VL,  c.  VII.,  §  10.      i  Sessio  Vn.    ^i  Sessio  IV. 


4:2  SCIENTIFIC   RESEARCH   RESTRICTED. 

Charch,  and  no  religious  existence  can  be  recognized  out  of  het 
pale.* 

With  these  doctrines  was  included  the  seclusion  of  th< 
Bible  even  in  its  Latin  version,  much  more  in  the  vernacular, 
from  perusal  by  any  one  not  an  ecclesiastic.f 

Then,  in  later  documents,  we  find  the  ideas  of  the  Roman 
fyTiurch,  touching  the  relations  between  science  and  religion, 
and  the  definition  of  the  Papal  claim  to  infallibility  in  religioup 
teachings.  Scientific  research  must  not,  on  pain  of  anathema, 
be  prosecuted  in  a  spirit  of  freedom,  if,  in  its  progress,  science 
should  assert  what  contravenes  the  doctrines  of  the  Church. J 
And  forasmuch  as  "this  See  of  St.  Peter  ever  remains  free 
from  all  error,"  when  its  sovereign  head,  the  Pope,  speaking 
*'in  virtue  of  his  supreme  apostolic  authority,"  defines  any 
"  doctrine  of  faith  or  morals,  to  be  held  by  the  universal 
Church,"  he  is  infallible;  and  therefore  "  such  definitions  of  the 

*  In  addition,  of  course,  are  to  be  noted  the  well-known  Romanist 
doctrines  of  the  Real  Presence,  Intercession  of  Saints,  Absolution  by 
the  Priesthood,  and  Purgatory  including  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the 
dead. 

f  Anterior  to  any  translations  of  the  Bible  into  modem  languages, 
the  Vulgate  had  been  declared,  to  all  persons  not  in  sacred  orders,  a 
sealed  volurae.  The  (Ecumenical  Council  held  at  Toulouse,  in  1229, 
passed  a  canon,  prohibiting  the  laity  from  having  the  books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament. — Concil.  Tolos.  Canon  14:  8abbd  Collect.^  vol. 
XL  p.  427. 

:{:  "  If  any  one  shall  say  that  human  sciences  ought  to  be  pursued  in 
such  a  spirit  of  freedom  that  one  may  be  allowed  to  hold  as  true  their 
assertions,  even  when  opposed  to  revealed  doctrine ;  and  that  such  as- 
Bertions  may  not  be  condemned  by  the  Church;  let  him  be  anathema." 

"  If  any  one  shall  say  that  it  may,  at  any  time,  come  to  pass  in  the 
progress  of  science,  that  the  doctrines  set  forth  by  the  Church  must  be 
taken  in  another  sense  than  that  in  which  the  Church  has  ever  received, 
and  yet  receives  them ;  let  him  be  anathema." 

The  above,  translated  for  the  (New  York)  Catlwlic  Warld,  by  some  oi 
the  bishops  attending  the  Council,  are  sections  2  and  3  of  Canon  IV. 
o^  the  OBcumenical  Council  of  the  Vatican,  promulgated  April  24,  187(X 
—See  CatMic  World  tox  3\me,  1870. 


DOGMA    OF    INFAI.LIBILITY.  4-3 

Roman  Pontiff  are  irreformable  (irreforraabiles)  :f  ^.hemselves, 
and  not  by  force  of  the  consent  of  the  Church  thereto."  This 
dogma,  also,  not  to  be  contradicted  on  pain  of  anathema.* 

The  peculiar  religious  ideas,  then,  against  which  Protestant- 
ism, during  three  centuries,  has  failed  to  make  head,  are 
substantially  these:  A  Spiritual  Sovereign  of  Christendom 
(elected,  from  time  to  time,  by  a  College  of  Cardinals),  divinely 
ordained,  infallible,  authorized  by  the  Deity  to  dictate,  without 
appeal,  the  religion  and  the  morals  of  the  world.  A  Univer- 
sal Church  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  perpetually  dwells,  keep- 
ing it  free  from  all  error,  and  of  which  the  traditions  are  of 
equal  authority  with  Scripture;  both  being  derived  through 
plenary  inspiration  of  God.  No  entrance  into  Heaven  except 
for  those  who  receive  the  sacraments.  No  escape  from  Hell 
except  by  obedience  to  the  Universal  Church's  commands.  No 
existence  of  religion  outside  of  the  Universal  Church.      Denial 

*  In  Chapter  IV.  of  the  Dogmatic  Decree  on  the  Church  of  Christ, 
passed  by  the  (Ecumenical  CouncU,  and  approved  by  the  Pope,  July  18, 
1870,  after  defining  the  character  of  Apostolic  teaching,  it  is  added : 
♦'  This  apostolic  teaching  aU  the  venerable  fathers  have  embraced,  and 
the  holy  orthodox  doctors  have  revered  and  foUowed,  knowing  most 
certainly  that  this  See  of  St.  Peter  ever  remains  free  from  all  error, 
according  to  the  Divine  promise  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  to  the  Prince 
of  the  Apostles." 

And  again,  in  the  same  chapter,  "We  teach  and  define  it  to  be  a 
doctrine  divinely  revealed,  that  when  the  Roman  Pontiff  speaks  ^ 
cathedra,  that  is,  when  in  the  exercise  of  his  office  of  pastor  and  teacher 
of  all  Christians,  and  in  virtue  of  his  supreme  Apostolic  authority,  he 
defines  that  a  doctrine  of  faith  or  morals  is  to  be  held  by  the  Universal 
Church,  he  possesses,  through  the  Divine  assistance  promised  to  him  in 
tihe  blessed  Peter,  that  infallibility  with  which  the  Divine  Eedeemet 
wiUed  his  Church  to  be  endowed,  in  defining  a  doctrine  of  faith  or 
morals  ;  and,  therefore,  that  such  definitions  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  are 
irreformable  of  themselves,  and  not  by  force  of  the  consent  of  the 
Church  thereto.  . 

"  And  if  any  one  shaU  presume,  which  God  forbid,  to  contradict  thia 
our  definition;  let  him  be  anathema. "-'C7af Mac  FbrZcZ  for  September, 
1870,  pp.  856-6. 


44  macaulay's  aegument  against  the 

to  tiie  liuman  soul  (outside  the  Catholic  priesthood)  of  tha 
right  to  interpret  Scripture.  Subordination  of  scientific  facta 
to  the  Church's  doctrines.  Finally,  a  solemn  curse  denounc«3d 
against  all  who  oppose  or  deny  any  canon  promulgated  by  the 
Church. 

Does  it  seem  to  you  that  Truth  ought  to  have  been  powerless, 
for  centuries,  against  prescripts  such  as  these  ? — that,  in  all 
that  time,  against  a  Church  styling  itself  infallible,  she  should 
have  lost  ground  instead  of  making  progress?  One  of  the 
most  powerful  and  cultivated  intellects  of  the  century,  not  Ro- 
man Catholic,  seems  to  have  taken  refuge  in  that  conclusion. 
In  the  essay  from  which  I  have  quoted  Macaulay  says : 

"  We  often  hear  it  said  that  the  world  is  constantly  becom- 
ing more  and  more  enlightened,  and  that  this  enlightening  must 
be  favorable  to  Protestantism  and  unfavorable  to  Catholicism. 
We  wish  that  we  could  think  so.  But  we  see  great  reason  to 
doubt  whether  this  is  a  well-founded  expectation.  ...  As 
to  the  great  question  what  becomes  of  man  after  death  we  do 
not  see  that  a  highly  educated  European,  left  to  his  unassisted 
reason,  is  more  likely  to  be  in  the  right  than  a  Blackfoot  In- 
dian. .  .  .  Nor  is  revealed  religion  in  the  nature  of  a  pro- 
gressive science.  All  divine  truth  is,  according  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Protestant  Churches,  recorded  in  certain  books.  It  is  plain, 
therefore,  that  in  divinity  there  cannot  be  a  progress  analogous 
to  that  which  is  constantly  taking  place  in  pharmacy,  geology, 
and  navigation.  A  Christian  of  the  fifth  century  with  a  Bible, 
is  on  a  par  with  a  Christian  of  the  nineteenth  century  with  a 
Bible,  candor  and  natural  acuteness  being,  of  course,  supposed 
equal.  ...  It  seems  to  us,  therefore,  that  we  have  no  se 
curity  for  the  future  against  the  prevalence  of  any  theological 
error  that  has  ever  prevailed  in  time  past  among  Christian 
n-ien."  * 

The  gist  of  this  is,  tha^^,  under  a  system  of  revealed  teach" 

♦  Macaula'tfs  Essays :  vol.  iii.  pp.  305-307. 


POSSIBILITY   OF   RELIGIOUS   PK0GEES8.  45 

ings,  there  is  no  religious  progress,  nor  any  reasonable  hope 
for  the  prevaieno-e  of  spiritual  truth. 

Ai-e  you  content  to  rest  in  a  conviction  thus  hopeless  ?  Are 
you  content  to  labor  in  your  vocation  under  such  discourage- 
inent  as  this  ? 

The  triumphs,  in  our  day,  of  art  and  science,  especially  in  the 
production  of  material  wealth,  have  been  vast  beyond  all  for- 
mer precedent.  In  1760  every  species  of  thread  was  spun  on 
the  single  wheel;  water  and  wind  were  the  chief  inanimate 
motors  ;  and  the  horse  or  the  dromedary  was  the  fleetest  mes- 
senger, except  when  the  intelligence  it  bore  was  occasionally 
anticipated  by  the  beacon-fire  on  the  hill-top,  or  by  signal  from 
the  cross-bar  and  the  pivoted  arm  of  that  clumsy  expedient 
which  was  dignified,  in  those  days,  by  the  name  of  telegi-aph. 
Then  came  a  sudden  irruption  of  industrial  inventions,  fabu- 
lous in  their  results.  Have  you  looked  into  that  subject  ?  If 
you  consult  the  best  English  statisticians  you  wiU  find  that  in 
the  British  isles  alone,  within  little  more  than  a  century  the 
increased  power  obtained  through  labor-saving  machinery 
equals  the  adult  manual  labor  out  of  two  worlds  as  populous 
as  our  own.* 

Again,  aside  from  industrial  entei-prise,  there  are  the  start- 

*  By  English  poHtical  economists  the  industrial  inventions  since  1760 
are  variously  set  down  as  frimisMng  a  power  equivalent  to  the  unaided 
labor  of  from  jQve  hundred  to  seven  hundred  millions  of  adults.  The 
mean  of  these — six  hundred  millions — may  be  assumed  as  near  the 
truth.  But  as  the  average  available  manual  labor  of  any  given  popula- 
tion is  usually  estimated  as  equal  to  that  which  might  be  performed  by 
one-fourth  of  that  population  if  all  were  working  adults,  it  follows  that 
the  labor  of  six  hiindred  millions  of  adult  workers  is  equal  to  the  man- 
ual power  which  resides  in  a  population  of  two  thousand  four  hundred 
millions,  ia  other  words,  of  nearly  twice  the  present  population 'of  our 
globe. 

Our  statistics,  ia  the  United  States,  furnish  no  sufficient  data  for  a 
similar  calculation.  The  amount  of  mechanical  power  compared  to 
population,  though  vast  and  ever  increasiag  among  us,  averages  less, 
doubtless,  here  than  in  England, 


4:0  TRIUMPHS   OF    SCIENCE. 

ling  discoveries  in  the  more  abstruse  departments  of  science^ 
connected  with  such  names  as  Faraday,  Darwin,  Tyndal,  Hiix 
ley. 

Is  the  great,  eternal  law  of  progress  to  operate  in  every  de« 
partment  of  knowledge  save  one — the  most  important  of  all  ? 
Is  everything  to  move  on  except  religion  ?  There  has  been  a 
Galileo  to  enlighten  our  ignorance  touching  the  orbit  of  the 
earth  and  the  motion  of  the  sun ;  a  Newton  to  explain  to  us 
the  career  of  planets  and  systems  of  planets  throughout  the 
heavens  ;  a  Harvey  to  detect  the  circulation  of  the  blood ;  p 
Humboldt  to  unveil  for  us  the  Cosmos ;  a  Bacon  to  organize 
the  exploration  of  all  fields  of  earthly  knowledge.  In  every 
department  of  material  and  intellectual  science,  the  advance 
has  been  from  conquest  to  conquest.  But  in  pneumatology  is 
the  end  already  reached  ?  Has  an  investigator  of  religion  no 
longer  a  legitimate  vocation  ?  Shall  we  say  of  its  doctrines,  as 
a  Scottish  philosopher  did  of  the  learned  foundations  of  Europe 
that  they  are  not  without  their  lesson  for  the  historian  of  the 
human  mind :  immovably  moored  to  the  same  station  by  the 
strength  of  their  cables  and  the  weight  of  their  anchors,  they 
serve  to  mark  the  velocity  with  which,  as  it  passes  them,  the 
rest  of  the  world  is  borne  along, 

I  thank  God  that  I  do  not  believe  this.  If  it  were  true,  life 
would  be  of  little  worth.  How  heart-sinking — how  utterly 
unworthy — the  conception  that,  under  the  Divine  Economy, 
that  grand  privilege  of  progress  to  which  man  owes  all  he  ever 
was  or  ever  will  be  is  denied  to  the  science  of  the  Soul,  while 
inhering  in  every  other ! 

It  is  not  of  the  arcana  of  Theology  that  I  am  speaking ;  it  is 
of  man's  soul,  not  of  God's  essence.  I  do  not  believe  that  we 
of  this  earth  shall  ever  make  progress  in  the  literature  of  the 
planet  Jupiter,  or  in  the  language  spoken  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Saturn.  There  is  what  to  man  is  the  unknowable  ;  and  outside 
tlie  sphere  of  the  knowable,  human  progress  cannot  be.  Ex- 
cept so  far  as  God's  works  around  us  adumbrate  thoir  Author 
and  His  attributes,  I  do  not  think  that  by  searching  we  can 


NO   PROGRESS    IN   THE    UNKNOWABLE.  47 

mako  progress  in  discovering  the  Creator's  wajs,  or  His 
thoughts,  or  His  judgments  ;  seeing  that  these  are  not  as  ours, 
but  unsearchable  and  past  finding  out.  When  we  press  on  in 
quest  €>f  such  mysteries,  the  power  of  the  highest  intellect  ex- 
pires before  it  attains  an  object,  as  waves  on  a  troubled  ocean 
break  and  lose  themselves  in  the  vast  expanse. 

Evidence  is  scattered  all  over  God's  works  of  infinite  intelli- 
gence, mercy,  love.  But  when  we  seek  to  know  what  were  the 
Deity's  specific  intentions  in  the  original  creation  of  man,  for 
what  purpose  He  permits  evil  and  misery,  how  He  himself 
exists — when  we  set  about  analyzing  the  divine  hypostasis  and 
the  like — we  come  upon  mysteries  which  it  is  not  probable  that, 
even  in  the  next  world,  we  shall  have  vision  to  penetrate  or 
means  to  solve. 

Macaulay's  argument,  then,  may  be  admitted,  so  far  as  it  ap- 
plies to  the  abstruser  portions  of  speculative  theology ;  but  only 
because  abstruse  theological  doctrines  are  among  the  unknowa- 
ble things.* 

But  as  for  Spiritual  science,  I  firmly  believe  that  we  have 
the  means  of  studying  it,  and  therefore  of  advancing  in  its 
various  branches.  When  we  declare  that  Truth  is  mighty  and 
will  prevail,  we  must  not  except  spiritual  truth ;  for  that  is  the 
mightiest  of  all.  Why  Calvinism,  why  Lutheranism,  prevailed 
not,  as  against  the  Roman  Church,  may  be  explained  without 
assuming  that  Christianity  lacks  the  element  of  progress.  To 
the  wholesome  truths  which  the  Reformation  put  forth,  it  un- 
doubtedly owed  its  half-century  of  progress.  The  hypothesis 
remains,  that  while  Protestantism  may  have  approached,  in 
many  respects,  nearer  to  the  truth  than  Roman  Catholicism,  it 
may,  in  other  matters,  have  failed  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  age, 
and  may  have  made  radical  mistakes  in  opinion  that  have 
pr(yved  fatal  to  its  advancement. 

*  Said  Luther,  preaching  otherwise  than  he  practised :  "  Let  the 
Father's  good  will  be  acceptable  to  thee,  O  man,  and  speculate  not  with 
thy  devilish  queries,  thy  whys  and  thy  wherefores,  touching  God'a 
words  and  works." — Luther's  Table  Talk^  p.  29. 


iS  GRAND   TRUTH    IN   PROTESTANTISM. 

The  grand  truth  inherent  in  Protestantism,  and  througli 
which,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  chiefly  came  the  wonderful  im- 
petus it  received,  is  one  that  has  stirred  men's  hearts  ever  since 
they  began  to  think  and  to  reason.  Luther  touched  upon  it : 
*'  Argue  will  I,  and  write,  and  exhort,"  he  said,  "  but  compel 
will  I  no  one."  *  If  he  is  not  entitled  to  be  called  the  Apostle 
of  /reedom  in  thought  and  speech,  it  is  because,  when  men  first 
emerge  to  the  light,  its  effulgence  is  wont  to  blind  them ;  and 
thus  the  world  advances  only  step  by  step.  If  the  Wittenberg 
Doctor  had  done  nothing  more  than  to  demand,  and  to  obtain, 
for  the  people  the  right  to  read  in  the  vernacular  the  sayings 
and  doings  of  Christ,  instead  of  taking  the  Christian  system,  at 
second  hand,  from  a  privileged  Order,  that  one  deed  would  en- 
title him  to  the  eternal  gratitude  of  mankind.  Luther  was  not 
tolerant,  he  was  not  consistent ;  but  how  outspoken  and  fear- 
less was  he,  even  when  life  was  at  stake !  We  cannot  think  of 
him  without  calling  to  mind  the  celebrated  words :  "  I  will 
go,"  he  said,  when  on  the  arrival  of  the  summons  to  appear 
before  the  Diet  of  Worms,  faint-hearted  friends  augured  for  him 
the  fate  of  Huss, — "  I  will  go,  if  there  were  as  many  devils 

*  "  — doch  zwingen  will  ich  Niemand."  The  expression  occurs  in  hia 
first  sermon  on  his  return  from  Wartburg,  [Luther's  Works ^  vol.  xviiL 
p.  256. )  Similar  sentiments  are  found  elsewhere  throughout  his  earlier 
writings. 

Hallam  reminds  us  that  we  should  be  careful,  in  considering  the 
Reformation  as  part  of  the  history  of  mankind,  not  to  be  misled  by  the 
idea  that  Luther  contended  for  freedom  of  inquiry  and  boundless 
privilege  of  iadividual  judgment.  {Literature  of  Europe,  Boston  Ed. 
1864;  vol.  i.  pp.  306-7.) 

But  I  think  we  should  not  deny  merit  to  those  who  may  have  ad- 
vanced, if  it  be  but  a  few  steps,  on  the  road  to  mental  enfranchisement, 
because,  clogged  by  the  intolerant  and  dogmatical  spirit  of  their  age, 
they  failed  to  go  farther. 

I  shall  have  occasion  also,  before  closing  these  remarks,  to  show, 
that  Luther  held,  and  boldly  expressed,  advanced  ideas  on  the  subjec  \ 
of  literalism  and  plenary  inspiration. 


AT   MAKBUEG.  4:9 

fcliere  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses."     He  went, 
and  the  world  will  long  remember  the  issue.* 


§  5.  The  Sin  at  Maeburg  and  at  Geneva. 

Deep  must  be  the  regret  felt  by  every  friend  of  the  fearless 
Wittenbergei ;  in  calling  to  mind  that  history  was  soon  to  pre- 
sen  t  the  reverse  of  the  medal.  Eight  yeai*s  later,  Luther  was 
summoned  by  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  to  another  meeting; 
this  time  at  Marburg ;  f  not,  as  before,  to  face  emperor,  and 
nobles,  and  ecclesiarchs ;  but,  in  friendship  to  confer  with  a 
man  as  brave  and  honest  as  himself;  a  fellow-soldier  in  the 
good  fight  of  faith,  stout  XJlrich  Zwingli ;  who  brought  with 
him  other  of  the  Swiss  Reformers.  They  differed  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,];  and  the  Landgrave  hoped  to  recon- 

*  "  Little  monk,"  said  the  veteran  conmiander  Fremidsberg,  tapping 
him  on  the  shoulder  as  he  entered  the  hall — ' '  Httle  monk,  Httle  monk, 
thou  art  on  a  passage  more  perilous  than  any  I  have  ever  known  on  the 
bloodiest  battle-  fields.  But  if  thou  art  right,  fear  not  I  God  will  sus- 
tain thee."  Quaint  and  undaunted  that  monk  stood  before  nobles  of 
the  Empire  and  dignitaries  of  the  Church.  When  admonished  that 
argument  was  unfit,  and  that  the  Diet  wanted  only  a  straightforward 
answer  as  to  whether  he  would  recant,  he  said  they  should  have  an 
answer  that  "had  neither  horns  nor  teeth"  (die  weder  Homer  noch 
Zlhne  haben  soil  ") ;  and  it  was  that  well-known  one :  "  I  am  conscience- 
bound  in  God's  Word,  and  cannot  and  dare  not  recant ;  since  it  is 
neither  safe  nor  advisable  to  do  anything  against  conscience.  Here  I 
Rtaud  ;  I  cannot  otherwise  ;  God  help  me  !     Amen !  " 

f  A  town  of  Hesse  Cassel,  on  the  Lahn. 

X  Luther  believed  in  the  ' '  real  presence  "  of  Catholicism ;  defending 
his  opinion  with  his  usual  plump  directness,  in  his  treatise :  Doss  die 
Worte  Christi^  "das  ist  mein  Leib,"  etc.,  7i<?c^/6«i«i€A67iy  and  in  hia 
Grosses  Bekenntniss  (1528).  He  says  (alluding  to  the  text,  Mat- 
thew xxvi.  26) :  "We  are  not  such  fools  as  not  to  understand  these 
wcrds.  If  they  are  not  clear,  I  don't  know  how  to  talk  Grerman.  Am 
I  not  to  comprehend  when  a  man  puts  a  loaf  of  bread  before  me,  and 
says  •  'Take,  eat,  this  is  a  loaf  of  bread; '  and  again,  'Take,  drink, 


50  LUTHEB   REFUSES   HIS   HAND 

cile  this  difference ;  but  each  held  to  his  opinion.  At  the  close 
Zwingli  exclaimed  :  "  Let  us  confess  our  union  in  all  things  in 
which  we  agree,  and  as  for  the  rest  let  us  remember  that  we  are 
brothers."  The  Landgrave  again  earnestly  urged  concord. 
Zwingli,  addressing  the  Wittenberg  doctors,  said :  "  There  is 
no  one  on  earth  with  whom  I  more  desire  to  be  united  than 
with  you."  Then  the  noble  Swiss  Reformer,  bursting  into 
tears  and  approaching  Luther,  extended  his  hand.  The  obdu- 
rate German  rejected  it.  "  You  have  a  different  spirit  from 
ours,"  was  all  he  said.* 

Ah,  Martin  Luther !  Valiant  wert  thou  in  defence  of  the 
modicum  of  holy  truth  thou  sawest;  and,  for  that,  honored 
forever  be  thy  name!  But  at  Marburg,  like  other  disciples 
before  thee,  thou  knewest  not  what  spirit  thou  wert  of.     Quick 

this  is  a  glass  of  wine '  ?  In  the  same  manner,  when  Christ  says, 
"  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body,'  every  child  must  understand  that  he 
speaks  of  that  which  he  gives  to  his  disciples." — Luther' 8  Work8^ 
Walch's  Ed.  Hahe,  1740-53,  vol.  xx.  p.  918. 

And  again,  in  his  Larger  Catechimi,  Art.  Lord's  Supper  (p.  554), 
he  says :  ''A  hundred  thousand  devils,  with  a  pack  of  visionaries  to 
boot,  may  come  at  me,  asking  :  '  How  can  bread  and  wine  be  Christ's 
body  and  blood  ? '  still  I  know  that  all  the  Spirits,  and  all  the  learned  \ 
heads  that  can  be  lirmped  together,  haven't  as  much  wisdom  as  God's  } 
Majesty  has  in  his  least  Httle  finger." 

Zwingli,  on  the  contrary,  regarded  the  words  in  question  simply  as  a 
trope,  like  the  other  words  of  Christ :  "I  am  the  true  vine  :  ...  ye 
are  the  branches"  (John  xv.  1,  5).  "The  bread,"  he  said,  "re- 
mains the  same,  but  the  dignity  of  the  Lord's  Supper  gives  it  value." — 
Hagenbach  :  History  of  Doctrines^  vol.  ii.  p.  313  (New  York  Ed. 
1862). 

*  It  was  in  1529.  Two  years  later,  Zwingli  gave  his  life,  on  the 
battlefield,  for  the  Protestant  cause.  One  wonders  what  Luther's  sen- 
sations may  have  been  when  the  news  reached  him. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  find,  in  a  biography  of  Luther  by  one  of 
his  warmest  admirers,  the  following :  • '  When  Luther  heard  of  the 
death  of  the  brave  Swiss,  on  the  sanguinary  field  of  Cappel,  fighting 
for  the  liberties  of  his  country,  there  is  no  sympathy,  but  a  grating 
harshness  in  the  tone  in  which  he  received  the  sad  news." — TuLLOCH  ? 
Leaders  of  t7i^  Beformation.    London,  1859,  p.  63. 


TO   A   NOBLE    CO-LABORER.  51 

fco  condemn  what  to  thy  short-sight  loomed  up,  though  but  a 
mote  in  another's  eye,  blind  to  the  beam  in  thine  own,  when 
thou  rejectedst  the  hand  of  thy  gentle,  weeping  brother,  who 
came  to  thee  suing  for  peace  as  becomes  a  child  of  God,  the 
Christian  was  dead  within  thee :  it  was  that  Evil  Spirit  of  yelf- 
love,  which  thy  fancy  had  so  often  personified  as  Demon,  that 
ruled  the  hour.  Heaven  help  those  who,  in  this,  are  still  fol- 
lowing thy  ei  ring  lead ! 

This  radical  error  ran  through  the  Great  Reformer's  life. 
Y/hile  one  cannot  read  his  "  Table  Talk,"  *  without  warming 
under  the  blunt  geniality  of  the  man,  nor  without  admiring  the 
force  of  his  rough-he  wings,  yet  his  unchristian  asperity  toward 
his  opponents — alas !  the  spirit  of  his  age  among  controversial- 
ists— is  as  directly  opposed  to  the  gentle  teachings  of  his 
Master,  as  if  the  Wittenberg  doctor  had  never  looked  into  the 
Testament,  or  read  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

We  might  excuse  him,  perhaps,  considering  how  he  was  per- 
secuted, for  saying :  "  Seeing  the  Pope  is  Antichrist,  I  believe 
him  to  be  a  devil  incarnate ;  "f  we  may  find  apology  even  for 
this  :  "  He  that  says  the  Gospel  requires  works  for  salvation,  I 
say,  flat  and  plain,  is  a  liar."  J  But  what  shall  we  say  of  the 
terms  he  applies  to  one  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  oi 
the  age,  the  intimate  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  one  who  revived  the 

*  Dr.  Martin  Luther's  CoUoquia  Mensalia,,  or  his  Divine  Discourses 
at  his  Table  :  gathered,  with  the  scrupulous  punctiliousness  of  a  Bos- 
well,  from  the  mouth  of  Luther,  by  two  of  his  most  intimate  friends 
and  disciples  (Lauterbach  and  Aurifaber),  translated  by  Hazlitt,  Lon- 
don, 1848. 

Under  an  edict  issued  by  the  Emperor  Rudolph  11.,  80,000  copies  of 
this  work  (then  to  be  found  in  almost  every  parish  of  the  empire)  are 
eaid  to  have  been  burnt. 

t  "Table  Talk,"  p.  195.  One  of  Luther's  works  is  entitled:  Das 
Papstthum  2U  Bom  vom  Teufel  gestiftet ;  that  is  :  TJie  Baman  Papacy^ 
an  Imtitution  of  the  Devil.  The  expression  quoted  above  is  but  one 
of  a  hundred  (some  much  more  abusive),  which  he  "thundered,"  as 
his  admirers  were  wont  to  express  it,  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  iti 
head  and  its  clergy.     The  mace  of  steel  was  his  weapon. 

t  7'able  Talk,  p.  137. 


52 


study  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  original  tongues,  publishing,  in 
1516,  the  first  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament  from  manuscripts 
— a  man  who,  like  himself,  had  been  condemned  as  a  heretic 
hy  Roman  Catholic  authority — what  shall  we  say  of  his  abuse 
of  such  a  man,  whose  worst  faults  were  timidity  and  conserva- 
tive moderation?  " Erasmus  of  Rotterdam,"  said  Luther,  " ia 
the  vilest  miscreant  that  ever  disgraced  the  earth.  .  .  . 
Whenever  I  pray,  I  pray  for  a  curse  upon  Erasmus."  * 

It  is  to  be  admitted,  however,  that  Luther  is  not  the  expo- 
nent of  that  phase  of  early  Protestantism  which  led  men  the  far- 
thest astray  from  the  paths  of  charity  and  justice.  A  man, 
second  only  to  himself  in  prominence  as  a  Reformer,  with  more 
learning,  and,  in  the  sense  of  the  schools,  an  acuter  intellect 
than  Luther — one  more  polished,  too,  and  far  more  cold-blooded 
than  the  bluff  and  hearty  Wittenberger — this  man,  John  Cal- 
vin, sinned  far  more  grievously  than  the  other,  not  against 
light  and  knowledge — for  the  stern  Genevan  is  not  to  be  taxed 
with  insincerity — but  against  the  Spirit  that  can  alone  reform 
the  heart  of  man — against  that  holy  Spirit,  without  which  the 
most  eloquent  master  of  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge  is  but 
as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal. 

One  of  the  forty -one  heresies  charged  against  Luther  in  Leo's 
bull  of  excommunication  was  that  he  (Luther)  had  declared  it 
to  be  "  against  the  will  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  burn  heretics." 
But  Calvin  was  accessory  to  that  very  persecution  unto  death 
for  opinion's  sake  which  the  other,  at  the  outset  of  his  career 
as  a  Reformer,  had  thus  emphatically  condemned. 

That  I  may  not  be  held  to  have  made  light  assertion  here 
touching  an  important  episode  in  history  which  I  had  not  care- 
fully examined,  I  pray  you  to  bear  with  me  while  I  briefly  re- 
call the  chief  incidents  connected  with  the  burning  as  a  heretic, 

*  Table  7alk,  p.  283.  The  immediate  cause  of  tMs  outburst  seema 
to  have  been  Erasmus'  expression  of  opinion  that  the  Epistle  to  tha 
Romans,  whatever  it  might  have  been  at  a  former  period,  was  not  appli- 
cable to  the  state  of  things  in  the  sixteenth  century.     (Same  page.) 


BEBVETTS.  53 

by  the  Protestants  of  Geneva,  of  a  fellow  Christian,  in  the  yeai 
1553.  The  story  has  been  told  by  an  eminent  Protestant  di- 
vine, with  careful  impartiality  *  and  an  exceeding  minuteness 
of  detail :  and  there  are  still  extant  numerous  official,  or  other- 
wise triistworthy  authorities  by  which  to  test  the  historian's 
accuracy. 


§  6.  The  Fortunes  and  the  Fate  op  Servetus. 

Michael  Serveto  (or,  as  he  is  usually  called,  Servetus)  was 
bom  in  the  year  1509,  in  Villa  Nueva,  a  town  in  the  kingdom 
of  Aragon  which  had,  thirty-five  years  before,  become  part  of 
the  kingdom  of  Spain.  He  was  of  reputable  birth ;  his  parents 
being  Catholic  and  his  father  an  advocate  in  good  standing  and 
notary  of  the  town.  He  was  probably  educated  for  the  Church, 
in  a  Spanish  Convent ;  but  he  emigrated  from  his  native  coun- 
try at  the  age  of  nineteen,  never  to  return  to  it.  He  was  of 
feeble  constitution,  afflicted  with  hernia  from  his  birth,  and,  ac- 

*  Mosheim's  narrative  bears,  throughout,  the  impress  of  truth. 
Deeply  feeling  the  dehcacy  of  his  task,  he  says,  at  the  outset:  "It 
is  easier  to  pass  unhurt  between  two  fires  burning  close  to  each  other 
than  to  relate,  in  such  fashion  that  no  one  shall  be  offended  or  exasper- 
ated, the  history  of  a  man  who  had  so  many  bitter  enemies  and  strong 
friends.  The  deep  emotions  which  arise  when  we  look  into  such 
aliistoiy — eniotiot»s  of  pity,  of  love,  of  anger,  of  hatred — tend  to  mis- 
lead even  the  man  svho  sets  the  strictest  guard  on  his  conscience.  .  . 
I  approach  this  work  with  entire  calmness  and  tranquillity  of  heart 
(mit  einer  voliigen  Gelassenheit  und  Stille  des  Herzens)  and  take  with 
m<  the  earnest  resolve  at  once  to  put  down  all  sentiment  that  might 
disturb  that  calm.  ...  I  deprecate  but  one  thing — of  all  imputations 
the  most  shameful — that  I  shall  knowingly  pervert  or  suppress  the 
truth. "  —  MosHEiM :  Geschichte  des  bei^uhmten  Spanischen  ArtzUs^ 
Michaels  Serveto  ;  Helmstaedt,  1748,  pp.  4,  5. 

This  history,  which  I  believe  has  never  been  translated,  extends, 
with  its  numerous  accompanying  documents,  to  528  quarto  pages,  dis- 
playing an  elaborate  and  exhaustive  research  rarely  to  be  found  outside 
of  German  literature. 


51  CREED   OF   SEEVETUS. 

cording  to  his  own  declaration,  it  was  on  account  of  his  infirm 
health  that  he  never  married.  He  seeins  to  have  heen  earnest 
and  studious  from  his  youth  up  ;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
incipient  symptoms  of  heresy  may  have  been  the  cause  why,  at 
so  early  an  age,  he  left  the  place  of  his  birth.  It  is  certain 
that  three  years  after  his  emigration  he  had  already  abandoned 
the  "Komish  faith,  and  become  imbued  with  the  religious  ideas 
that  were  to  rule  his  life.  These  three  years  were  chiefly  spent 
in  study  at  the  University  of  Toulouse. 

When  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  to  wit  in  1530,  he  visited, 
at  Basel,  a  noted  Swiss  Reformer,  Johann  Hausschein,  better 
known  under  the  Greek  name  he  assumed,  of  CEcolampadius  ; 
frankly  laying  before  him  his  creed.  It  appears  to  have  been 
substantially  as  follows : 

There  is  one  God  almighty,  and  none  other  beside  him,  single 
not  complex,  who  through  his  Word  and  through  the  Holy  Ghost, 
created  all  things.  There  is  one  only  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  begotten  by  the  eternal  Word  of  the  Father  and 
given  by  God  to  men  as  Saviour  and  Redeemer :  He  prays  to 
the  Father  for  us ;  and  through  his  prayers  and  by  the  agency 
of  angels,  we  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.* 

CEcolampadius,  the  chief  leader  of  the  new  religious  movement 
m  Basel  and  a  man  highly  esteemed  all  over  Switzerland,  was 
by  nature  of  mild  and  gentle  character  for  that  age ;  yet  he 
was  sorely  tried'  by  the  eagerness,  and  what  he  must   have 

*MosiiEiM:  Gescldchte  des  Michad  Seroeto^  p,  16.  Hottingeb: 
Schweitzer  Kirchengescliichte^  voL  ii.  p.  94.  Throughout  Servetus' 
works,  when  he  seeks  minutely  to  define  his  idea  of  the  nature  and 
divinity  of  Christ,  his  expressions  are  not  very  intelligible  :  a  common 
fault  among  the  theologians  of  that  age,  to  say  nothing  of  our  own. 

Here  is  Calvin's  definition  of  the  Trinity  :  "  There  is  in  the  Father  a 
proper  hypostasis,  which  is  conspicuous  in  the  Son;  and  thence,  also, 
we  may  easily  infer  the  hypostasis  of  the  Son  which  distinguishes  him 
from  the  Father.  The  same  reasoning  is  applicable  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  this  is  not  a  distinction  of  the  essence  which  it  is  imlawful  tc 
represent  as  any  other  than  simple  and  undivided." — Inst,^  Book  1, 
Chap.  13,  §2. 


SEKVETUS   AND   (ECOLAMPADIUS.  55 

deemed  the  presumption,  of  a  scarcely-bearded  youtL,  who 
pressed  upou  him,  a  father  in  Israel,  doctrines  savoring  ol 
i^  rianism,  and  held  argument  with  one  of  more  than  twice  hia 
own  age,  as  man  to  man,  on  terms  of  frank  equality.  They 
parted,  as  honest  men  often  do,  mutually  incensed ;  *  the  Span- 
iai'd  protesting  that  he  should  ever  recognize  Christ  as  the  Son 
of  God  ;  the  Swiss  insisting  that  if  his  opponent  intended  to  be 
a  Christian,  he  musb  acknowledge  Christ  to  be  the  uncreated 
and  eternal  Son  of  God,  of  identical  substance  with  the  Father. 
It  was  the  same  dispute,  unsettled  yet,  that  had  convulsed  the 
Council  of  Nice,  twelve  hundred  years  before,  between  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  orthodox  Ilomoousian  and  those  of  the  hetero- 
dox JSbmoiousian  doctrine. 

A  little  knowledge  of  the  world  would  have  convinced 
Servetus  that  if  his  doctrines  were  thus  harshly  repulsed  by  a 
man  of  CEcolampadius'  easy  temper,  they  would  be  certain  to 
create  a  storm  of  indignation  among  the  Reformers  generally. 
But  not  perceiving  this,  or,  if  he  perceived  it,  undeterred  by 
pinidence  and  carried  away  by  the  conviction  that  he  had  a 
mission  from  God,  the  young  Spaniard  printed,  in  Strasburg 
in  1531,  his  work  on  the  **  Errors  of  the  Trinity."  f 

*  When  Servetus,  next  year,  went  to  Strasburg  he  complained  to 
Bucer,  a  noted  Reformer  residing-  there,  of  CEcolampadius'  harsh 
treatment.  Bucer  probably  wrote  on  the  subject  to  CEcolampadius :  at 
all  events  there  is  a  letter  extant  addressed  by  the  latter  to  Bucer  in 
which  he  exculpates  himself  in  these  words :  "I  will  be  mild  in  other 
things,  but  not  when  I  hear  Jesus  Christ  blasphemed." — Ruchat  : 
Histoire  de  la  Eefomiatioii  de  Suisse,  vol.  iii.  Book  7. 

f  De  Trinitatis  Etrrorihus,  Libri  Septem.  As  a  specimen  of  the  obscur- 
ity of  definition  to  which  I  have  referred,  take  the  following  from  this 
work  :  "  Christ  was  preformed  in  the  Divine  mind;  he  was  a  certain 
mode  of  existence  which  God  constituted  in  himself,  that  he  might 
make  himself  visible  to  us  ;  namely  by  describing  the  effigies  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  Himself."  (Erat  Christus  in  mente  divina  prgef ormatus ;  erat 
quidem  modus  se  habendi,  quem  in  se  ipso  Deus  disposuit,  ut  seipsmn 
nobis  patefaceret,  scilicet  Jesu  Christ!  effigiem  in  se  discribendo.") 
Lib.  viu  p.  110. 


56  SEBVETUS   IN   PARIS 

It  had  a  large  circ  ilation,  and  an  exasperating  effect.  QCco 
lampadius,  writing  to  Bucer  to  exonerate  his  countrymen  from 
all  sympathy  with  such  a  heresy,  adds  that  *'  he  knew  not  hov^ 
that  beast  had  slipped  into  Switzerland."  *  And  Bucer,  usu 
ally  temperate  in  language  for  a  theologian  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  jireached  violently  against  Servetus,  declaring  ''  that 
the  heretic  ought  to  be  disembowelled  and  torn  to  pieces."  f 

The  Reformers  felt  the  more  outraged  because  the  Catholica 
threw  it  up  to  them  that  this  new  Arianism  of  Servetus  (aa 
they  called  it)  was  the  legitimate  offspring  of  the  Beformation. 
It  became  unsafe  for  the  rash  innovator  either  in  Switzerland 
or  in  Germany.  He  took  refuge  in  France,  at  first  in  Lyons, 
afterwards  in  Paris,  where,  for  years,  he  studied  the  profession 
of  medicine,  obtaining  a  degree  both  in  that  science  and  in  arts. 
He  lectured,  also,  on  astronomy  and  mathematics,  and,  as  it  ap- 
peared, not  to  obscure  audiences;  having  had  distinguished 
men  among  his  hearers,  one  of  these  being  the  learned  Peter 
Palmer  or  Palmerius,  afterwards,  fortunately  for  Servetus,  a 
dignitary  of  the  Roman  Church.  Then  he  issued  a  medical 
work,  got  into  serious  trouble  with  the  Paris  faculty,  and  left 
Paris  in  consequence,  in  1540.  In  1542  he  settled  at  Vienne, 
a  town  on  the  Bhone,  some  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Lyons 
his  chief  inducement  being  that  his  former  friend  and  patron 
Palmier,  was  then  Catholic  Archbishop  of  the  place.  There 
also,  he  found  warm  well-wishers  in  the  Archbishop's  brother 
the  Prior,  Jean  Palmier,  in  Bochefort,  President  of  the  medical 
faculty,  and  in  a  former  intimate  friend  and  fellow-student  in 
Paris,  Jean  Perellus,  the  Archbishop's  physician.  In  Vienne, 
he  issued  two  works  ;  a  revised  edition,  with  notes  and  emenda- 

*  Epistola  ZwinglU  et  (Ecolampadu,  vol.  iv.  p.  801. 

f  Calvin  is  the  authority  for  this.  After  Servetos'  death,  he  wrote 
defending  his  conduct  to  a  friend  :  "  Is  [he  is  speaking  of  Servetus]  est, 
de  quo  fidelis  Christi  minister,  et  sanctae  memori£B  D.  Bucerus,  qutun 
alioqui  mansueto  esset  ingenio,  pro  suggestu  pronunciavit :  dignum  esse, 
qui  avulsis  visceribus  discerperetur."—  Galvini  Epistda,  CLVI.  ad  SuJ 
oeruin,  p.  294  (Ed.  Amstelod.  1567,  page  90). 


AND  IN  VIENNE.  51 

ticms,  of  that  great  thesaurus  of  ancient  cosmical  knowledge, 
by  Ptolemy,  which  Humboldt  characterizes  as  a  colossal  pro« 
duction  ;  and  a  new  edition  of  the  Vulgate,  with  a  preface  and 
annotations. 

Ten  years  he  sj^ent  at  Yienne,  the  most  tranquil  of  hia 
Btormy  life  ;  his  practice  as  physician  daily  increasing  through 
the  favor  of  influential  friends,  to  whom,  as  he  gracefully  ex- 
pressed it  in  the  dedication  of  his  Ptolemceus,  his  obligations 
were  as  great  as  were  those  of  the  students  of  geography  to 
Ptolemy  himself.  During  this  time,  he  silently  conformed  to 
the  rites  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  constrained  thereto,  doubt- 
less, by  a  sense  of  the  extreme  rashness  of  alienating  those 
benevolent  patrons  to  whom  he  owed  not  his  present  easy  cir- 
cumstances only,  but  the  protection  of  his  life.     « 

After  a  time,  however,  he  became  restless,  accusing  himself 
that,  by  such  conformity,  he  was  paltering  with  his  conscience, 
and  neglecting  the  work  which  God  had  laid  upon  him.  He 
sought  to  renew,  with  Calvin,  a  theological  correspondence 
which  he  had  begun  ten  years  before.  Calvin's  biogi^aphers 
state  that  in  setting  before  the  Genevese  Reformer  what  he 
considered  to  be  his  (Calvin's)  departure  from  true  Chiistian 
doctrine,  Servetus  admonished  him  with  much  asperity;  and 
this  is  doubtless  true;  for  the  Spaniard's  zeal,  like  that  oi 
almost  all  the  Reformers  of  that  day,  was  mingled  with  arro- 
gance. We  may  suppose  it  was  for  this  reason  that  Calvin  re- 
plied not  a  word  to  the  other's  repeated  missives.* 

*  It  ought  not,  However,  in  this  connection,  to  be  forgotten  that  Cal- 
vin, years  before,  permitted  a  spirit  of  the  coarsest  reviling  against  hia 
opponent  to  break  out  even  in  his  (Calvin's)  commentaries  on  the  Bible. 
On  Genesis  i.  3,  his  annotation  is  :  "  This  alone  is  enough  to  refute  tbe 
blasphemy  of  Servetus.  That  obscene  dog  barks  that  this  was  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Word  when  God  commanded  there  should  be  light."  In  the 
Amsterdam  edition  of  Calvin's  works  (9  vols,  fol.,  1671)  will  be  found 
the  original  Latin,  reading  thus  :  "  Latrat  hie  obscoenus  canis  hoc  pri- 
mum  fuisse  Verbi  initium,  quum  Deus  mandavit  ut  lux  esset."  Other 
passages  (as  the  comment  on  St.  John  i.  1)  cont'Oin  m'milar  teruui  of 
8* 


58  SEKVETUS   PUBLISHES 

Then  Servetus  resolved  on  the  publication  of  his  chief  and 
most  noted  work;*  one  on  which  he  had  been  laboring  for 
years  and  which  cost  him  his  life.  The  idea  which  had  for- 
merly haunted  him  returned  with  resistless  force.  He  was  a 
soldier  of  Christ,  called  upon  to  take  part  (as  he  was  wont  to 
express  it)  in  the  great  fight  now'  being  waged  between  Michael 
and  the  Dragon.  Luther  himself  was  not  more  zealous  in  his 
faith,  nor  more  bold  in  expressing  it.  Servetus'  preface  ex- 
hibits his  profound  conviction  that  God  had  called  him  to  beai 
\vitness  before  a  benighted  world.  With  a  touching  earnest- 
ness he  implores  the  Son  of  God  that  he  would  reveal  Himself 
to  his  servant,  enlightening  him,  vouchsafing  a  holy  spirit  and 
words  of  power,  and  so  directing  thoughts  and  pen  that  the 
glory  of  His  own  divinity  might  be  set  forth  and  the  very 
truth  of  Christian  faith  be  illustrated,  f  Christ  was  banished 
from  the  world  (he  declares  in  his  book)  when  the  Nicean 
Council  set  aside  the  true  doctrine  touching  His  person,  and 
proclaimed  the  dogma  of  a  tripartite  God.  J 

opprobrium.  (Nee  me  latet  quid  oblatret  Mc  cards,  etc. )  It  needs  a 
reference  to  such  passages  as  originally  written,  to  convince  one  that 
men  of  gravity  and  world-wide  reputation,  seeking  sacred  truths,  coidd 
indulge,  toward  fellow-laborers,  in  spirit  and  language  so  utterly  dis- 
graceful. 

*  Restitutio  Christianismi.  It  was  printed,  at  Servetus'  own  cost 
(1,000  copies),  by  Balthazar  AmoUet,  in  Vienne,  and  published  early  in 
the  year  1553.  This  is  said  to  be  the  scarcest  work  in  the  republic  of 
letters.  Catholics,  Calvinists,  Lutherans  concurred  in  efforts  for  its 
destruction.  It  is  doubtful  whether  more  than  a  single  printed  copy 
remains,  and  that  brought,  at  the  VaUenian  sale  in  1784,  the  sum  of 
4,120  Hvres. 

f  "  O  Christe  Jesu,  fill  Dei,  .  .  .  teipsum  aperi  servo  tuo,  ut  mani- 
festatio  tanta  vera  patefiat.  Spiritum  tuum  bonum  et  verbum  eflBcax 
petentinunc  tribue,  mentem  meam  et  calamum  dirige,  ut  divinitatis  tuae 
gloriam  possim  enarrare  ac  veram  di  te  fidem  exprimere." — Preface  to 
the  Restoration  of  Christianity. 

X  "  Ab  eo  tempore  est  in  tres  res  tripartitus  Deus,  f  ugatus  omnino 
Christus,  pessundata  omnino  ecclesia." — Restitutio  Christianismi^  Lib 
I.  p.  394. 


Ills    GEEAT    WORK.  50 

Nor  did  the  enthusLast  conceal  from  himself  that  life  waa 
staked  on  the  issue.  In  a  letter  to  Abel  Pepin,  a  Genevese 
divine,  written  some  years  before  the  publication  of  his  work  on 
the  Restoration  of  Christianity,  and  used  against  him  on  hia 
trial,  he  says :  "  I  know  of  a  surety  that  I  shall  die  for  this 
cause  ;  but  not  on  that  account  do  I  lose  heart,  desiring  to  be- 
come a  disciple  like  unto  my  Master."  * 

In  another  part  of  this  letter  to  Pepin  is  a  sample  of  the 
imprudence  of  speech  into  which  Servetus  was  occasionally  be- 
trayed. He  bluntly  tells  the  Genevese  preacher,  "  Your  gospel 
is  without  the  one  God,  without  the  true  faith,  without  good 
works.  Instead  of  one  God  you  have  a  three-headed  Cerberus  ; 
instead  of  true  faith  you  have  a  fatal  dream ;  and  good  works 
you  say  are  empty  shows." 

It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  in  his  works  he  permitted 
himself  any  expression  so  offensive  to  trinitarians,  as  the  "  three- 
headed  Cerberus."  His  strongest  printed  expressions  are  a 
"  chimera,"  a  "  mere  imagination,"  and  the  like. 

Scarcely  had  Servetus'  book  been  issued,  when  a  copy  found 
its  way  to  Geneva,  where  it  produced  no  little  excitement.  A 
certain  Frenchman,  named  William  Trie,  a  convert  from  the 
Church  of  Rome,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  that  city,  seems  to 
have  been  especially  irritated  thereby.  He  wrote,  in  March 
(1553),  to  a  Catholic  friend  in  Lyons,  some  have  said  at  the 
instigation  of  Calvin,  but  of  that  I  find  no  sufficient  proof. 
He  taunted  his  friend  with  the  carelessness  of  the  Church  he 
himself  had  desei-ted,  in  tolerating,  in  Vienne,  an  arch  heretic ; 
and  he  gave  Servetus'  name  and  address,  and  the  title  of  the 
new  work  of  which  he  was  the  author.  His  friend  held  it  a 
duty  to  bring  the  matter  to  the  notice  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Yienne.  Slowly  and  reluctantly,  as  it  seemed,  Servetus'  Cath- 
olic friends  in  Yienne  moved  in  the  matter  ;  alleging  that  there 

*  "Mihi  ob  earn  rem  moriendmn  esse,  certo  scio;  sed  non  propterea 
animo  deficior,  ut  fiam  discipulus  similis  Preceptori."  This  letter, 
written  ia  1546,  is  given  by  Mosheim,  copied  from  the  oflBlcial  registei 
of  the  tniX.—Oe8c7dchte  des  MicTiad  Semeto,  p.  100. 


60  HE   ESCAPES   FROM   VIENNE. 

was  not  suflGlcient  proof  that  the  well-known  and  much  'i» 
teemed  physician,  Michael  de  Villa  Niieva  (for  under  thai 
name  he  was  known  among  them),  was  Servetus,  and  had  writter 
the  book  in  question.  Disappointed  in  his  first  etFort,  Tr'e 
procured  from  Calvin  the  private  letters  on  theology  w^hith 
Servetus  had  addressed  to  him,  and  sent  these,  in  the  month  of 
April,  to  Vienne.  Even  then  the  Catholic  officials  seem  to 
have  hesitated.  Six  weeks  more  elapsed  ere  Servetus  v/as 
arrested ;  and  this  was  done  in  a  private  way,  his  feelings 
being  respected  to  the  utmost.  In  {)rison  he  was  assigned  com- 
fortable quarters;  his  servant  was  allowed  to  be  with  him  ;  he 
was  suffered  to  retain  his  money  and  other  valuables  and  even 
permitted  the  range  of  the  building.  On  his  examination  his 
book  and  his  letters  to  Calvin  were  used  as  evidence  against 
him,  and  he  frankly  confessed  himself  the  author  of  both.  A 
few  days  later  and  before  sentence,  he  escaped  from  prison, 
jjrobably  by  the  connivance  of  his  Catholic  friends,  including 
the  Archbishop;  and,  after  a  fruitless  search  for  him,  which 
seems  not  to  have  been  earnestly  pressed,  he  was  condemned 
as  a  heretic  and  burnt  in  effigy. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  June  that  Servetus  fled  from  Yienne, 
resolved  to  seek  refuge  and  a  livelihood  as  physician  in  Naples. 
Two  roads  were  open  to  him ;  that  by  Piedmont,  to  which  his 
objection  probably  was  that  he  was  there  liable  to  be  overtaken 
by  a  warrant  issued  for  his  apprehension  by  the  inquisitors  of 
Vienne ;  the  other,  by  Geneva  through  Switzerland,  which  he 
selected,  doubtless  deeming  it  the  safer  route.  He  probably 
underrated  Calvin's  power  among  his  fellow-burgesses,  not 
knowing  how  narrowly  a  distinguished  member  of  the  City 
Council  *  had  escaped  a  few  years  before.     Nor  is  it  likely  he 

*  Peter  Ameaux.  He  had  spoken  somewhat  freely  of  Calvin's  doc- 
trines, especially  of  predestiaation  and  election,  and  his  temerity  cost 
hiTn  dear.  Deposed  from  his  office  and  cast  into  prison,  he  was  fain  to 
purchase  his  release  by  appearing  as  a  penitent,  waxlight  in  hand,  con- 
fessing the  sin  he  had  committed  and  imploring  forgiveness  for  his 
h^TBBj.^-'Geschichte  des  Michad  Serveto,  p.  152. 


A  QUAINT  OLD  DEC3EEE.  61 

had  e  rer  been  informed,  that  in  the  previous  month  of  Novem- 
ber  a  decree  had  passed  the  Council  of  Geneva,  declaring  Cal* 
vin's  Institutes  to  be  a  book  "  well  and  hoUly  written,  its 
doctrine  to  be  the  holy  doctrine  of  God,"  and  that  "  from  thia 
time  forth  no  one  shall  dare  to  say  aught  against  the  said  book 
01  the  said  doctrine ; "  commanding  all  and  several  that  the^l 
adhere  to  this.* 

There  was  another  document,  which,  had  the  poor  fugitive 
seen  it,  would  have  warned  him  that  of  all  places  Geneva  was 
the  most  dangerous  for  him  to  pass  through.  It  was  a  letter 
addressed  by  Calvin  seven  years  before  (to  wit,  in  1546),  to  his 
friend,  William  Farell  (or  Farellus),  in  which  occurs  tliis  pa& 
sage :  "  Servetus  wrote  to  me  lately,  and  to  his  letters  added 
a  large  volume  of  his  ravings,  with  braggart  boastings  that  I 
should  therein  find  things  stupendous  and  hitherto  unheard  of. 
If  it  pleased  me,  he  added,  he  would  come  hither  ;  but  1  was 

*  I  shall  have  occasion  a  few  pages  farther  on  to  speak  of  the  book 
here  referred  to  and  its  doctrines.  The  decree  from  which  I  have 
quoted  above  is  as  well  worth  preserving-,  ia  its  quaint  old  dress,  as  any 
Egyptian  mummy  in  its  cerements.  Here  it  is,  dated,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, Wednesday,  November  9,  1552 : 

''  Estans  ouys  in  Conseil,  et  savans  ministres  de  la  paroUe  de  Dieu, 
Maistre  Guillaume  Farel  et  Pierre  Viret,  et  apres  eux  spectables  mais- 
tre  Johaa  Calvin  et  maistre  Johan  Trouillet,  en  leurs  dires  et  reprochea 
souvent  debattues  de  ITnstitution  Chrestiene  du  diet  monsieur  Calvin, 
et  le  tout  bien  considere,  le  conseil  arreste  et  conclu  que  toutes  chosea 
bien  oyes  et  entendu,  a  prononce  et  declare  le  diet  livre  de  I'lnstitution 
du  diet  monsieur,  estre  bien  et  sainctement  faict,  sa  doctrine  estre 
saincte  doctrine  de  Dieu ;  que  Ton  le  tient  pour  bon  et  vrai  ministre  de 
ceste  Cite,  et  que  de  I'ici  a  Tavenir  personne  ne  soit  ose  parler  centre  le 
diet  livre  ou  la  dicte  doctrine.  Commandans  aux  pareilles  et  a  tons  se 
doive  tenir  a  cela.  Le  Mequredi,  que  fut  neufvieme  de  Novembre ; 
I'an  mille  cincq  cens  cincquante  et  deux." 

The  original,  on  the  records  of  the  Council,  can  doubtless  still  be  seen 
at  Geneva.  Castalio,  a  neighbor  and  contemporary  of  Calvin  (if,  as  ia 
usually  believed,  he  was  the  author  of  Contra  libeUum  Calvim,  1554), 
publishes  it  entire  m  that  work. 


62 

not  willing  to  engage  my  word.     Eor  if  he  does  come,  so  fai  as 
my  authority  may  prevail,  he  shall  never  go  hence  alive."  * 

(Jnknowing  these  things  and  hoping  for  better  treatment  fi  ( tm 
Protestants  than  Catholics,  the  unfortunate   Servetus,   after 


*  The  authenticity  of  tMs  extract  has  been  sometimes  called  in  ques- 
tion, probably  because  it  has  been  confounded  with  another  letter  to 
Peter  Viret,  a  minister  of  G-eneva,  which  Bolsec  (in  his  De  vita  et 
monbus  Calvini^  Book  8,  p.  8)  alleges  that  he  saw  and  in  regard  to 
which  the  evidence  is  insufficient.  The  letter  to  Farell  in  Calvin's  own, 
well-kaown  hand,  was  found  by  the  celebrated  Grotius,  in  the  year  1G31, 
in  a  four-volume  manuscript  collection  of  letters  from  distinguished 
Protestants  in  Paris,  {Geschichte  des  Michad  JServetus, -p.  130.)  The 
Dutch  historian  Vytenbogaert,  gives  the  extract  in  his  Kerkelyken 
Histm^ie  (Book  2,  p.  45),  as  follows:  "  Servetus  nuper  ad  me  scripsit, 
et  litteris  adjunxit  magnum  volumen  suorum  deliriorum,  cum  Thra- 
Bonica  jactantia,  me  stupenda  et  hactenus  inaudita  visurum.  Si  nuhi 
placeat,  hue  se  venturum  recipit :  sed  nolo  fidem  meam.  interponere. 
Nam  si  venerit,  modo  valeat  mea  auctoritas^  mvum  eccire  nunquam 
patiar.''''  The  italics  are  my  own.  Vytenbogaert  gives  this  extract  on 
the  authority  of  ' '  een  seer  geleert,  ende  in  dese  Landen  wol  bekennt 
Personagie,  anno  1631,"  who  had  inspected  the  letter  in  Paris.  (P.  48.) 
"  One  can  hardly  doubt"  says  Mosheim,  "  that  Grotius  is  here  desig- 
nated ;  he  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Vytenbogaert,  and  he  lived  in 
Paris  in  1630  and  1631."  {OescIiicJite^  p.  131.)  But,  to  remove  all 
doubt  as  to  the  existence  of  this  letter,  we  have  Grotius'  own  words 
which  I  have  verified.  Speaking,  in  his  theological  works,  of  those  who 
have  written  in  favor  of  pimishing  heretics  by  the  sword,  he  says  : 
"  Horum  Calvinus  autem  is  est  qui  antequam  Servetus  (is  autem  ipsius 
judicium  super  scriptis  suis  expetiverat)  veniret  Genevam,  scripsit 
(exstat  ipsius  lutetise  manus)  ad  Farellum,  si  quid  sua  valeret  auctoritas, 
effecturum  ne  vivus  abiret." — Grotius  :  Opera  Theologica^  foL  Am- 
Btei"dam,  1679,  vol.  iii.  (Append,  de  Antichristo)  p.  503. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Grotius  not  only  states  the  fact  that  the  letter 
to  Farellus,  in  Calvin's  own  hand,  was  extant  in  Lutetia  (Paris)  and  con- 
tained the  threat  against  Servetus'  life,  but  also  alludes  to  another  cir- 
cumstance, to  be  gathered  from  the  extract  as  given  by  Vytenbogaert, 
namely,  that  Servetus  had  solicited  Calvin's  opinion  touching  his  (Serve 
tus')  writings. 

Other  authors  testify  to  the  same  effect ;  but  the  above  Buf&ces. 


HE  ACTS  UPON  IT.  63 

Becreting  himself  for  sometime  in  Dauphine,  ran  into  the  lion'a 
mouth. 

The  precise  period  of  his  arrival  in  Geneva  and  the  term  of 
his  residence  there  are  uncertain  :  some  alleging  that  he  tarried 
iu  the  city  a  single  day  only,*  others  that  he  lay  hidden  there, 
communicating  with  no  one,  for  three  or  four  weeks.  Certain 
it  is,  that,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure,  by  vessel,  up  the  lake, 
on  his  way  to  Zurich,  he  was,  at  the  instance  of  Calvin,f  ar- 
rested as  a  heretic  and  cast  into  prison.  The  property  which 
the  inquisitors  of  Yienne  had  respected  was  surrendered  to 
the  inquisitors  of  Geneva ;  it  included  a  heavy  neck-chain  of 
gold,  such  as  was  usually  worn  in  those  days  by  men  of  his 
condition,  several  gold  rings,  and  ninety-seven  gold  pieces. 
His  place  of  confinement  was  a  dungeon,  assigned  only  to 
malefactors  committed  for  capital  oflfences.  There  he  lay  during 
two  months  and  a  half. 

He  was  arraigned  before  the  Syndics,  judges  of  the  Criminal 
Court.  The  charge  against  him  was  for  heresy  alone;  his 
private  character  appearing  to  have  been  unblemished.  In 
Geneva,  as  in  Yienne,  he  admitted  and  justified  his  peculiar 
opinions,  demanding  permission  to  engage  in  public  argument 
with  Calvin,  in  open  church,  or  before  the  larger  council  of  the 

*  Principal  Tulloch,  who  seems  to  have  examined  the  authorities 
with  care,  thinks  there  is  conclusive  evidence  thai  Serve tus  arrived  at 
Geneva  on  a  Sunday,  wandered  off,  after  dinner,  into  the  church  where 
his  great  adversary  was  preaching,  was  there  recognized  by  some  one 
who  reported  the  fact  of  his  presence  to  Calvin,  and  was  arrested  the 
same  evening. — Leaders  of  the  Reformation^  London,  1859,  p.  141. 

f  This  wUl  be  admitted  as  beyond  question  by  those  who  have  looked 
carefuUy  into  the  history  of  the  case  ;  seeing  that  Calvin  himself  as- 
serts it.  In  a  letter  written  to  his  friend  Sulcerus,  dated  September  9, 
1553,  speaking  of  Servetus,  he  says  :  "At  length,  driven  hither  by  hia 
evil  genius,  one  of  the  Syndics,  at  my  instigation,  arrested  him. "  The 
original  reads:  ''Tandem  hue  malis  auspiciis  appulsum,  unus  ex 
Syndicis,  me  auctore^  in  carcerem  duci  jussit. " — Epistola  ad  Sulcerum 
n  Epistolis  Calvini,  No.  156,  p.  294. 

Servetus  was  arrested  Aiigust  13,  1553. 


64  TRIAL   OF   SEKVETUS  BEFORB 

two  hundred,  on  the  question  whether  his  doctrine  was  in  ac 
cordance  with  Scripture.  This  was  denied  him  ;  and  as  a  \er' 
bal  discussion  before  the  Court  touching  the  true  sense  of  the 
words  person  and  hypostasis,  and  similar  theological  subtleties, 
had  led  to  intemperance  of  language  on  the  part  of  both  con- 
troversialists, it  was  ordered  that  Calvin  should  set  forth  hia 
argument  in  writing,  to  which  Servetus  should  reply  in  like 
manner. 

Two  weeks  had  elapsed  before  Calvin  had  completed  his 
paper.  Therein  he  set  himself  to  prove,  and  succeeded  in  prov- 
ing, that  many  of  Servetus'  religious  opinions  were  heretical ; 
that  is,  were  at  variance  with  the  teachings  of  his  own  Institutes, 
which  Institutes,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Geneva  Council  had 
decreed  to  be  "  the  holy  doctrine  of  God."  Then  Servetus, 
having  been  furnished  with  writing  materials,  and  with  such 
books  as  he  desired  from  Calvin's  library  and  other  sources, 
was  called  on  for  a  reply.  Some  of  Calvin's  accusations  he 
denied  indignantly  ;*  but  stoutly  defended  his  own  actual  opin- 
ions. All  this  caused  great  delay,  during  which  the  prisoner 
complained  piteously  to  his  judges  of  his  miserable  condition; 
eaten  up  by  vermin,  racked  with  pains  from  disease  and  from 
the  cold  and  damp ;  without  the  means  of  cleanliness  or  ev^en  a 
change  of  linen;  suffering  other  miseries,  he  adds,  "about 
which  it  shames  me  to  write."  j* 

*  For  example,  "  that  ttie  human  sotd  is  mortal "  and  that  "  Jesus 
Christ  derived  but  a  fourth  part  of  his  body  from  the  Virgin  Mary  :"— 
"things  horrible  and  execrable,"  Servetus  writes  (September  22), 
"  which  if  I  had  ever  said  in  private  or  written  in  public,  I  should  con- 
demn my  own  self  to  death." — MosTieim,  p.  419. 

t  "Lesponlx  me  mangent  tout  vif,  mes  chauses  sont  descirees,  et 
nay  de  quoy  changer,  ni  pourpoint,  ni  chamise,  que  une  mechante.'' 
This  was  September  15.  Under  date  October  10  he  writes  :  "Quanta 
CO  que  avies  commande,  qu'on  me  fit  quelque  chose  pour  me  tenir  net, 
nen  a  rien  este  faict  et  suys  plus  pietre  que  jamais.  Et  davantage  le 
froyt  me  tormante  grandament  a  cause  de  ma  colique  et  rompure,  la 
quelle  mengeldre  daultres  pauretes,  que  ai  honte  vous  escrire." — Orig- 
inal letters,  given  in  Ge$chiohte  dea  Miohad  Serveto,  p.  421. 


THE   COUNCIL   OF   GENEVA.  6ll 

The  theological  controversy  could  have  but  one  issue; 
then  the  Public  Prosecutor  took  u})  the  case,  and  Servetua 
demanded  the  aid  of  an  attorney,  alleging  that  he  was  a  for- 
eigner, ignorant  of  the  customs  of  their  city.  To  this  the 
prosecutor  replied  that  the  prisoner  knew  so  well  how  to  teK 
lies,  he  needed  no  counsel :  and  his  demand  was  rejected  ac- 
cordingly.* 

Aime  Perret,  one  of  the  principal  members  of  the  City 
Council,  backed  by  a  few  equally  tolerant  spirits,  sought  to 
avert  Servetus'  impending  fate ;  but  the  great  authority  of 
Calvin,  who  had  determined  on  the  heretic's  death,t  prevailed. 
Proposals  to  commute  the  punishment  to  banishment,  or  to  per- 
petual imprisonment,  were  defeated ;  and  after  some  weeks' 
delay,  to  give  time  for  replies  from  various  Swiss  Churches 
which  had  been  consulted  on  the  matter,  J  the  weary  suspense 
of  the  prisoner  was  at  last,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October, 
broken  by  the  announcement  that  he  had  just  been  condemned 
and  would  be  executed  the  next  day.  For  five  or  six  weeks 
previously  his  urgent  endeavors  to  procure  a  further  hearing 
had  been  fruitless ;  §  yet  he  seemed  to  have  been  wholly  unpre- 
pared for  the  terrible  result.     Weakened  doubtless  by  his  long 

*  De  la  Roche  :  Memoirs  of  Literature^  vol.  iv.  p.  188.  This 
author  had  access  to  the  original  papers  in  the  trial. 

f  Under  date  August  20  (a  week  after  the  arrest  of  Servetus),  Calvin 
wrote  to  a  friend  :  "  I  hope  that  he  will  be  sentenced  to  death  ;  but 
the  atrocity  of  his  mode  of  suffering  I  desire  to  have  remitted." 
("  Spero  capitale  saltim  fore  judicium ;  poenae  vero  atrocitatem  remitti 
cupio").— CaZv.  ^i^i'  ^o.  134,  p.  290. 

X  Namely,  the  Churches  of  Zurich,  SchafEhausen,  Basel,  and  Berne. 
Though  none  of  these  Churches  committed  themselves  on  the  subject 
of  capital  punishment  for  heresy,  and  though  the  Bernese  expressed 
the  hope  that  their  brethren  of  Geneva,  "  would  do  nothing  unworthy 
of  a  Christian  magistracy,"  the  gist  of  their  replies  was  to  encourage 
the  prosecution. 

§  "These  three  weeks,"  he  wrote,  October  10,  "have  I  sought  an 
audience — in  vain.  I  implore  you,  by  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  not  to 
refuse  me  the  justice  you  would  grant  to  a  Turk." — Moshdm,  p.  430. 


GG  THE  DEATH   SENTENCE. 

and  painful  confinement,  he  was  utterly  overcome,  shedding 
tears  and  uttering  cries  for  mercy. 

His  death-sentence,  after  reciting  his  heresies,  of  which  th« 
principal  seems  to  have  been  that,  "  contrary  to  the  true  foun- 
dation of  the  Christian  Religion,  and  detestably  blaspheming 
the  Son  of  God,  he  said  that  Jesus  Christ  was  not  the  Son  of 
God  from  all  eternity,  but  only  since  his  incarnation" — went 
on  to  decree,  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  that  he  should  be 
bound  and  conducted  to  the  spot  called  Champel,  there  fastened 
to  a  stake  and  burnt  alive,  along  with  his  manuscripts  and 
printed  book,  till  his  body  was  reduced  to  ashes.* 

When  they  summoned  t}ie  condemned,  next  morning,  to 
execution,  he  begged  to  be  beheaded,  instead  of  undergoing  the 
torture  of  fire ;  adding  that  if  he  had  erred  it  was  from  igno- 
rance, and  with  pure  and  good  motive,  and  to  further  the  glory 
of  God.  Farell,  Calvin's  friend  and  colleague  in  the  ministry,  f 
who  had  been  appointed  as  his  escort,  told  him,  for  sole  answer, 
that  his  best  plan  was  to  recant  and  so  gain  pardon.  Servetua 
replied  that  he  had  committed  no  crime,  nor  ever  deserved 
death ;  but  that  he  prayed  God  to  forgive  his  accusers  the  sin 
they  were  committing  against  him.  This  grievously  ofiended 
the  other,  who  retorted  sharply ;  and  Servetus  ceased  to  beg 
further  mercy  of  man.     This  submission  so  far  moved  Farell 

*  "  Au  nom  du  Pere,  du  Fils,  et  du  sainct  Esprit,  .  .  toy,  MicheTj 
Servet  condamnons  a  devoir  estre  He  et  mene  au  lieu  de  Chapel  et  1^ 
devoir  estre  a  un  pilotis  attache  et  brusle  tout  vif  avec  ton  livre,  tant 
ecrit  de  ta  main  qu'imprime,  jusqu'a  ce  que  ton  corps  soit  reduit  en 
cendre." — MosJidm,  p.  446. 

f  One  of  the  most  eloquent  and  violent  among  the  Protestant  divines 
of  that  day.  He  was  the  author  of  the  celebrated  Placards^  written  at 
Geneva,  posted  in  an  evil  hour  (during  the  night  of  October  24-5,  1534), 
on  the  walls  of  Paris,  even  in  the  palace  of  Francis  I. ,  and  which,  by 
the  gross  intemperance  of  -their  spirit,  and  the  virulent  abuse  of  their 
language,  arrested  for  the  time  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 
defeated  the  efforts  of  the  gentle  Margaret,  the  king's  sister,  to  procure 
toleration  for  the  new  creed,  and  brought  to  torture  and  to  death  thou 
Bands  of  brave  and  good  men. 


8ERVETUS    AT   THE   STAKE.  67 

that  he  sent  to  the  Council  praying  that  Servetus'  punishment 
might  be  commuted  to  death  by  the  axe;  but  the  judges  were 
inexorable,  and  the  procession  moved  toward  the  small  mount 
outside  of  the  walls  where  the  sentence  was  to  be  carried  into 
effect.  On  the  way  Servetus  exclaimed  aloud,  from  time  to 
time,  "  O  God,  save  my  soul !  O  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  the  eter- 
nal God,  have  mercy  upon  me !  " 

"  Mend  thy  last  words,"  said  his  ghostly  comforter  :  "if  thou 
wouldst  save  thyself,  call  on  Jesus,  the  eternal  Son  of  God." 
But  he  could  not  be  moved  to  this.  When  he  approached  the 
fatal  spot  and  saw  the  stake,  with  fagots  piled  around  it,  he  fell 
on  his  face,  praying  in  silence. 

Then  Farell  harangued  the  crowd :  "  You  see  here,"  he  said, 
"how  mighty  is  the  power  of  Satan.  This  wretch,  who  is 
about  to  suffer  death,  is  a  very  learned  man ;  and  perhaps,  even, 
he  may  think  that  what  he  has  done  is  right.  But  the  devil 
has  him  in  his  coils,  having  taken  entire  possession.  Take  heed 
that  a  similar  calamity  overtake  not  yourselves." 

When  Servetus  arose  from  prayer,  Farell  made  a  last  effort 
to  procure  from  him  a  confession  that  Christ  was  God's  son 
from  all  eternity.  But,  in  reply,  he  only  cried  out :  "  My  God, 
my  God  !  "  "  Can't  you  say  something  better  than  that  ?  " 
persisted  the  preacher.  "What  better,"  replied  the  poor 
wretch,  "  than  to  call  on  God  in  my  utmost  need  ?  "  Then  he 
entreated  the  bystanders  to  pray  for  him.* 

At  the  very  last,  before  he  was  committed  to  the  executioner's 
hands,  Farell  exclaimed :  "  The  eternal  Son  of  God,  say  but 
that !  "  Not  a  word  from  the  convict  in  reply !  He  was 
fastened  to  the  stake  by  a  strong  chain  about  his  body  and  a 
rope  passed  several  times  around  his  neck,  the  book  which 
constituted  his  crime  being  bound  to  his  Iolds. 

When  he  saw  the  fagots  kindled  and  felt  the  first  touch  of 
the  flame,  he  cried  out  so  piteously  that  the  crowd  around  were 

*  Calvin  {Hefut.  error.  Ssrveti,  p.  704)  actually  brings  it  up  as  an  ac- 
cusation against  his  victim  that  he  asked  the  prayers  of  those  whose 
faith  he  held  to  be  false  and  heretical. 


68  LAST   WORDS    OF    SERVETUS. 

thrillcid  with  horror.  The  fuel  was  green  oak  wood  aid  hi* 
torture  lasted  a  full  half  hour.  Some  of  the  spectators,  Tirged 
by  irresistible  compassion,  flung  burning  fagots  over  his  body, 
the  sooner  to  end  his  agony  His  very  last  words,  pronounced 
in  a  loud  voice,  were  these :  "  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  the  eternal 
God,  take  pity  upon  me."  * 

Thus  perished,  martyr  to  his  religious  opinions,  a  Protestant 
whom  Mosheim  declares  to  have  been  "one  of  the  most 
thoughtful  and  learned  men  of  his  day."  f  Calvin  caused  his 
death,  but  is  not  responsible  for  his  torture.J     Nor  should  we 

*  These  and  many  other  details  will  be  found  in  Mosheim's  GescMcliU 
des  Michael  Serveto,  %  xxxi.  pp.  225-228. 

f  — "einer  der  tiefsinningsten  und  gelehrtesten  Manner  seiner  Zei- 
ten." — Mosheim  :  OeschicJite  des  Micliad  Serveto^  p.  230. 

Science,  too,  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Spanish  physician. 
The  author  of  the  article  "  Circulation,"  in  Rees'  Encyclopedia,  says  : 
' '  The  first  ray  of  light  was  thrown  on  the  circulation  of  the  blood  by  a 
man  (Servetus)  whose  name  cannot  be  mentioned  without  feelings  of 
compassion." 

The  passage  to  which  the  above  refers  will  be  found  quoted,  at 
length,  in  An  impartial  History  of  Michael  Servetiis,  burnt  alive  at 
Geneva  far  Heresie,  London,  1724,  p.  67. 

X  When  it  seemed  not  unlikely  that  Perret  and  the  other  friends  of 
moderation  might  carry  the  day  and  save  Servetus'  life.  Calvin  threat- 
ened, in  that  case,  to  leave  Geneva  and  take  up  his  abode  elsewhere ; 
whereupon  his  friend  Heinrich  BuUinger,  hearing  of  such  intention, 
thought  it  necessary  to  entreat  him  (by  letter  of  September  14)  not  to 
desert  a  Church  where  so  many  good  men  were  to  be  found  ;  since 
"  though  swine  and  dogs  "  (the  writer's  paraphrase  for  heretics)  "  were 
more  numerous  than  could  be  wished,  yet  we  should  bear  much  for  the 
elect's  sake,  seeing  that  through  many  tribulations  we  must  enter  the 
Kingdom  of  God." — Mosheim,  p.  231.  Henk.  Bullinger,  ic  Epist. 
Calvini,  No.  157,  p.  295 .  The  text  is :  "  Ne  recesseris,  oro,  ab  ea  ec-clesia, 
qua9  tot  habet  viros  excellentes.  .  .  .  Tametsi  enim  sunt  porci  et  ca- 
Ues  multo  plures  quam  yelimus,  propter  electos  tamen  multa  sunt  to- 
leranda.     Per  multas  tribulationes  oportet  nos  ingredi  in  regnum  Dei." 

To  console,  under  anticipated  misfortune,  a  man  who  fears  he  shall 
not  have  the  satisfaction  of  procuring  the  death  of  one  who  holds  relig- 
ious opinions  at  variance  with  his  own,  by  reminding  him  that  it  is  only 


HIS   SENTENCE   APPLAITDED.  69 

regard  as  feigned  a  zeal  that  errs  only  for  lack  of  knowledge. 
We  have  no  right  to  deny  that,  like  Paul  before  his  conversion, 
ftie  Genevese  Reformer  verily  believed  that  in  persecuting  those 
from  whom  he  dissented  he  was  doing  God  service.  Certain 
it  is,  he  boldly  justified  the  deed.* 

Nor  he  alone.  Lamentable  to  relate,  it  was  generally  com- 
mended by  the  Protestants  of  that  day  as  an  act  pleasing  to 
God.  Mosheim,  speaking  of  the  state  of  feeling  among  the 
Reformers,  when  the  news  of  Servetus'  death  spread  among 
them,  says  that  while  a  few  condemned  the  severity  of  the  pun- 
ishment, by  far  the  greater  number  endorsed  the  deed  and 
applauded,  as  worthy  of  immortal  honor,  Calvin's  zeal  for 
religion.f  The  mild  Melancthon,  himself,  writing  to  Calvin  a 
year  after  the  martyrdom  of  Servetus,  scrupled  not  to  say  : 
"  The  Church  owes  you  now,  and  will  owe  you  in  future  times, 
a  debt  of  gratitude.  ...  I  affirm  that  your  magistrates  acted 
justly  inasmuch  as,  by  judicial  sentence,  they  put  to  death  that 
blasphemous  man."  J 

through  much  tribulation  we  can  reach  Heaven,  is  a  very  pectdiar  and 

very  sixteenth-century  idea. 

However — to  the  credit  of  the  Genevese  hierarchy  be  it  said — as  soon 
as  it  became  known  that  Servetus  was  doomed  to  be  burnt  alive,  Calvin 
and  other  preachers  went  in  a  body  to  the  Council  and  sought  to  pro- 
cure a  commutation  of  the  sentence  to  a  mil^'^er  form  of  death. — Mos- 
heim, p.  217. 

*  "Am  I  guilty  of  crime,"  Calvin  wrote,  "because  our  Senate,  at 
my  instance  {meo  Jiortatu),  revenged  itself  of  his  (Servetus')  execrable 
blasphemies  ?  "  (execrabilis  eius  blasphemias  nitus  est.) — Calvinus, 
Eespojmone  ad  convitia  Franc.  Baldidm^  p,  429. 

I  ' '  Wenn  der  Hauf e  derer  geziihlet  wird,  die  den  Tod  des  Servet'a 
bedanren,  so  ist  er  nur  klein  in  Ansehen  derer  die  sich  iiber  den  Unter- 
gang  eiaes  so  schadlichen  Mamies  freueten,  und  seinen  Verfolger  ala 
«inen  um  die  Kirche  imsterblich  verdienten  Eiferer  lobeten." — Geschicfttft 
des  Michad  Serveto^  p.  237. 

X  "  Tibi  quoqne  ecclesia  et  nunc  et  ad  posteros  gratitudiuem  debet 
et  debebit.  .  .  .  Affirmo,  etiam,  vestros  magistratus  juste  fecesse, 
quod  hominem  blasphemum,  re  ordire  judicata,  interfecerunt. — M» 
amihon  ad  Galvinum,  Oct.  14,  1554.     Calv.  Epist.  No,  187,  p.  341. 


T()  TOLERATION   UNKNOWN   THR0UGH0I3T 

Whether  Luther  would  have  coincided  in  this  opinion  must 
fiver  remain  matter  of  conjecture;  he  died  seven  years  before 
Servetus  suffered.  Twenty-five  years  previous  to  that  eveni 
he  had  written  against  capital  punishment  for  opinion;  de- 
claring that  false  teachers  ought  to  be  banished  only.* 


§  7.  Religious  Toleration  three  hundred  years  ago. 

In  truth,  as  a  general  rule,  the  sixteenth-century  Reformera 
rejected,  in  principle  and  in  practice,  the  idea  of  religious  free- 
dom. Among  all  the  noted  theologians  of  the  Reformation,  I 
find  but  two  who  upheld  man's  right  to  liberty  of  conscience ; 
Sebastian  Castalio  and  Loelius  Socinus;  neither  to  be  ranked 
among  the  influential  leaders  of  the  Protestant  movement. f 
Castalio,  French  by  birth,  and  for  several  years  professor  of 
classical  literature  at  Geneva  (but  banished  thence  in  the  year 
1544  because  of  a  quarrel  with  Calvin),  was  the  more  out- 
spoken. Socinus,  an  Italian  of  noble  family,  and  (as  is  well- 
known)  an  anti-trinitarian,  timid  by  nature,  spoke  less  openly.  J 

*  "  Ego  ad  judicimn  sanguinis  tardus  sum,  etiam  ubi  meritam 
abundat.  .  .  Nullo  modo  possum  admittere  f alsos  doctores  occidi  : 
Satis  est,  eos  relegari. — LutlieH  EpistolcB  (Ed.  Aurifabri),  vol.  ii.  p. 
381. 

f  Since  writing  the  above  I  am  glad  to  find,  in  a  recent  work,  evi 
dence  goiag  to  prove  that  Zwingli  should  be  added  to  the  list.  Lecky 
{Rationalism  in  Europe,  vol.  i.  p.  383,  New  York  Ed.)  quotes  from 
Bossuet  ( Variations  Protestantes,  Book  2,  Chap.  19)  an  extract  from  a 
Confession  of  Faith,  written  by  the  Swiss  Reformer,  just  before  hia 
death,  in  which  Zwingli  describes  that  "future  assembly  of  all  the 
saintly,  the  heroic,  the  faithful  and  the  virtuous,"  when  Abel  and 
Enoch,  Noah  and  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  will  mingle  with  the  sagea 
and  heroes  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  when  every  upright  and  holy  man 
who  has  ever  lived  will  be  present  with  his  God.  All  honor  to  TJlrich 
Zwingli,  gallant  torch-bearer  in  a  benighted  generation!  Bossuet,  of 
course,  adduces  the  sentiment  as  the  climax  of  heresy. 

X  Beza  {Life  of  Calvin^  Book  8)  speaks  of  these  two  as  the  chief  sup- 
porters cf  freedom  of  opinion  at  that  day.     In  the  preface  to  a  liatin 


THE    SIXTEENTH   CENTUEY.  71 

In  a  general  way,  religious  liberty  was  unknown  fckro  .ighout 
Europe  during  the  sixteenth  century. 

It  is  important  to  obtain  a  distinct  idea  of  the  stand  taken 
by  the  Keformers  of  that  day  on  the  subject  of  mental  emanci- 
pation. Luther  had  divested  the  Bible  of  its  learned  cerements 
and  submitted  it,  in  homely  tongue,  to  the  unlettered  mass  of 
his  countrymen.*  But  in  giving  them  the  book,  he  denied  to 
tliem  the  right  of  interpreting  it.f  He  and  his  co-laborers  in 
the  ministry,  declared  that  if  any  one,  reading  the  translated 
Scriptures,  derived  therefrom,  how  sincerely  soever,  concep- 
tions touching  the  nature  of  the  Trinity  or  of  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  or  of  the  doctrines  of  the  atonement,  that  differed  from 
their  ov/n,  such  a  dissenter  was  a  detestable  blasphemer,  who 
ought  to  suffer  death,  or,  at  the  least,  banishment.  How  much 
worse  was  the  decree  of  a  single  Pope  than  the  dictation  of  a 
presbytery?  How  much  better  the  City  Council  of  Geneva 
than  the  CEcumenical  Council  of  Trent — both  assuming  to  de- 
cide, for  the  Christian  world,  what  is  "  the  holy  doctrine  of 
God." 

Could  such  men  conquer  in  spiritual  strife  ?  And  because 
they  did  not,  are  we  justified  in  concluding,  with  Macaulay, 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  religious  progress  ?  I  think  not. 
The  Protestantism  of  the  sixteenth  century  failed,  indeed,  to 
establish  itself  as  the  one  dominant  religion  of  civilization. 
But,  evincing  the  spirit  it  evinced,  do  you  think  it  ought  ever 
to  have  succeeded  ? 

That  question  (you  will  perhaps  remind  me)  ccncems  arti- 
cles of  religious  faith  as  well  as  rights  of  private  judgment. 

taranslation  of  the  Bible  (1573)  Castaho  boldly  asserts  bate  principle  of 
religfious  liberty. 

*  In  ten  years  (from  1523,  when  Luther's  translation  appeared,  to 
1533),  ffty -seven  editions  of  the  New  Testament  were  piinted,  of  which 
seventeen  from  the  Wittenberg  presses. 

f  "Whoso  after  my  death  shall  contemn  the  authority  of  this  school 
here  at  Wittenberg',  if  it  remaia  as  it  is  now,  school  and  Chux'-li.  w  a 
heretic  and  perverted  creature." — Liithefs  Table  Talk,  p.  339. 


72  THE   AGE    OF    SCHOLASTICISM. 

Undoubtedly.  And  though  it  be  aside  from  my  present  pur 
pose  to  engage  in  theological  controversy — seeing  that  tha 
world  does  not  read  folios  nowadays,  and  that  I  propose  to 
write  but  a  single  small  volume, — yet  it  is  useful  to  be  reminded 
what  the  dogmas  of  that  day  were.  And  this  the  rather,  be- 
cause one  finds,  in  the  symbolic  history  of  the  time,  all-suffi- 
cient cause,  and  a  certain  apology,  for  the  denial  of  mental  free- 
dom to  humankind.  While  the  Reformers  set  up  faith  in 
doctrine,  aside  from  works,  as  the  one  thing  needful  for  the 
soul's  salvation,  they  rejected  another  phase  of  faith  essential 
to  human  improvement.  They  had  no  belief  in  human  virtue ; 
and,  as  a  corollary,  they  considered  man  unfit  to  be  trusted, 
especially  in  choice  of  a  religion. 

Sufier  me,  then,  here  briefly  to  reproduce,  from  the  accred- 
ited text-books  of  early  Protestantism,  a  few  of  the  more  im- 
portant doctrines ;  sufficiently  well-known,  doubtless,  to  most 
students  of  your  profession ;  but  less  familiar,  probably,  in 
their  original  form,  to  the  majority  of  secular  inquirers. 


§  8.  Salient  Doctrines  op  the  Reformers. 

*'  The  mournful  record  of  an  earlier  age, 
That,  pale  and  half  effaced,  lies  hidden  away 
Beneath  the  fresher  writing  of  to-day." — Longfellow. 

The  sixteenth  century  was  eminently  the  age  of  scholasti- 
cism. The  pubKc  mind  of  Europe  fed  upon  dogmas  and  con- 
fessions of  faith,  as  eagerly  as  did  that  of  America  in  Revolu- 
tionary days  on  political  axioms  and  State  constitutions.  Lu- 
theran and  Calvinist  and  Catholic  debated,  at  market  and  at 
board,  in  Diet  and  workshop,  the  exciting  question  of  Papal 
infallibility,  with  the  same  absorbing  zeal  as  did  the  Puritan  a 
century  later  the  vexed  issue  touching  the  right  divine  of 
kings.  The  early  Protestants  discussed  free-will,  and  the  real 
presence,  predestination,  and  justification  by  faith,  w  ith  a  fierv 


ST.   AUGUSTINE.  7'^ 

earnestness  tliat  far  outdid  our  warmest  political  strifes.  We 
have  much  more  toleration,  but  also  much  more  indifference, 
in  matters  of  religion,  than  these  sturdy  controversialists. 

The  fundamental  and  characteristic  doctrines  of  the  Refor- 
mation date  from  the  patristic  period.  They  derive  chiefly 
from  a  man  whose  opinions,  disseminated  in  the  fifth  century 
from  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Numidian  kings,  influenced 
with  a  power  which  no  other  schoolman  ever  exercised,  the 
theology  of  the  world  throughout  a  thousand  years,  dating 
from  the  time  he  flourished. 

St.  x^ugustine  seems  to  have  deserved  the  character' he  bears, 
as  one  of  the  purest,  kindest,  and  holiest  of  men ;  singular  in 
his  humility  and  severe  in  his  self-discipline.*  His  "  Confes- 
sions" have  spoken  to  thousands  of  perturbed  and  penitent 
hearts,  as  they  did,  beyond  question,  to  Luther  in  his  Augustin- 
ian  cell,  and  to  Calvin  during  his  precocious  studies.  "  Luther," 
says  Principal  Tulloch,  "  nourished  himself  upon  Scripture  and 
St.  Augustine."  f  Calvin's  "  Institutes  "  are  based  on  Augus- 
tine's "  City  of  God."  In  that  great  work,  the  monument  of 
highest  genius  left  to  us  from  the  ancient  church,  and  generally 

*  In  very  early  life  led  away  by  profligate  companions,  then  attracted 
by  the  charm  of  classic  poetry  and  assthetics,  afterwards,  for  nine  years, 
a  JManichaean ;  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  weary  of  pleasure  and  phil- 
osophy, Augustine  went  to  Rome,  made  the  acquaintance  of  Ambrose, 
Bishop  of  Milan,  and  was  by  him  converted  to  Christianity,  The  death 
of  a  saintly  mother  and  of  an  illegitimate  son,  plunging  him  in  deepest 
grief,  drove  him  to  a  monastic  life.  His  episcopate  of  thirty-five  years 
was  one  long  labor  of  benevolence.  Courteous  in  bearing,  he  invited 
Pagans  to  his  table.  In  a  controversy  with  the  Universalists  of  his 
day,  he  asserted  that  their  error  should  be  tenderly  dealt  with,  since  it 
originated  in  a  desire  to  vindicate  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God. 
While  he  condemned  and  combated  the  heresy  of  Donatus  (founded  on 
denial  of  the  Church's  infallibihty),  he  protested  to  the  Proconsul  of 
Africa  that,  if  capital  punishment  was  inflicted  on  the  Donatists,  he 
and  his  clergy  would  suffer  death  at  the  hands  of  these  turbulent  here- 
tics, rather  than  be  instrumental  in  bringing  them  before  the  tribunals 
—8.  Augustini  Epistda,  No.  127,  ad  Procons.  Africae. 

f  Leaders  of  the  Reformation,  London,  1859,  p.  10. 
4 


74 

in  the  African  bishop's  voluminous  lucubrations,*  we  find  the 
source,  not  only  of  the  Reformers'  creed,  but  also,  in  later 
years,  of  the  Jansenist  heresy.  His  doctrine  is  tersely  ex- 
pressed in  that  saying  of  his :  "  He  that  made  thee  without 
thy  aid,  will  He  not  save  thee  without  thy  aid  ?  "  Pity  it  is, 
that  in  reproducing,  in  exaggerated  form,  the  worthy  father's 
peculiar  views,  the  sixteenth-century  dialecticians  failed  to  im- 
itate  his  personal  gentleness  and  charity.f 

Luther  led  the  forlorn  hope  against  the  old  fortress  of  Papal 
infallibility,  and  it  was  the  heavy  cannon  of  his  rough  rhetoric 
that  first  eifected  a  practicable  breach.  But,  as  regards  the 
dogmatic  history  of  the  early  Protestant  movement,  Calvin  is 
the  central  figure.  The  chief  work  of  his  life,  his  celebrated 
"  Institutes,"  J  officially  set  up  by  his  fellow-townsmen  of 
Geneva  as  a  scheme  of  doctrine  too  holy  to  be  questioned,  won 
for  him,  in  liis  own  times,  from  Melancthon  and  from  the  Prot- 
estant world  generally,  the  title,  by  excellence,  of  "  The  The- 
ologian ; "  and  even  in  our  day  it  is  accepted,  by  popular  his- 
torians of  the  Reformation,  not  only  as  the  most  complete  and 
methodical  text-book  of  that  movement,  but  as  one  of  the  most 
tj.iumphant  efforts  of  human  wit.  § 

The  chief  characteristic  of  this  work  is  its  frank  directness. 
It  is   free  from   all   paltering  and  equivocation.     Its  author, 

*  The  titles  alone  of  St.  Augustine's  numerous  works  make  a  long 
catalogue. 

f  While  full  justice  should  be  rendered  to  St.  Augustine's  kindly  na- 
ture, one  ought  not  to  forget  that  the  doctrines  he  taught  led  logically 
to  intolerance  and  persecution. 

X  Institutes  of  the  Christian  Hdigion  ("Institutio  Rehgionis  Chris- 
tianifi"),  hy  JoiiN  Calvin.  The  translation  which  I  have  followed, 
made  from  the  original  Latin  and  collated  with  the  author's  last  edition 
in  French,  is  by  John  AUen,  London,  1813.  It  has  the  reputation,  de- 
served, I  think,  of  being  one  of  the  most  faithful  extant. 

§  Merle  D'Aubigne  says  of  this  treatise,  that  it  "is  the  finest  body  of 
doctrine  ever  possessed  by  the  Church  of  Christ."  And  he  adds  :  "  This 
work,  accomplished  by  spiritual  force,  far  exceeds,  in  the  importance  of 
Hb  oonsequences,  all  that  has  ever  been  done  by  the  pens  of  the  ablest 


INCULCATING    HUMAN   DEPBAVITT.  It 

having  assumed  his  premises,  hesitates  at  no  conclusions  t(i 
which  they  logically  lead.  Even  while  he  confesses  predestina- 
tion to  be  a  "  horrible  decree,"  *  he  asserts  it  none  the  less 
boldly,  as  divine  doctrine,  on  that  account.  Nor  does  he  shrink 
from  inculcating  "  abhorrence  of  ourselves,"f  nor  from  such  ad- 
missions as  that  grace  is  not  offered  to  all  men,  that  the  most 
odious  crimes  are  God's  work,  and  the  like.  But  let  this  fear- 
less dogmatist  speak  for  himself. 

First,  on  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity : 
, "  Let  us  hold  this  as  an  undoubted  truth  which  no  opposi- 
tion can  ever  shake,  that  the  mind  of  man  is  so  completely 
alienated  from  the  righteousness  of  God,  that  it  conceives,  de- 
sires, and  undertakes  everything  that  is  impious,  perverse,  base, 
impure,  and  flagitious  ;  that  his  heart  is  so  thoroughly  infected 
by  the  poison  of  siu  that  it  cannot  produce  anything  but  what 
is  corrupt ;  and  that  if,  at  any  time,  men  do  anything  apparently 
good,  yet  the  mind  always  remains  involved  in  hypocrisy  and 
fallacious  obliquity,  and  the  heart  enslaved  by  its  inw  ard  per- 
verseness.  ...  In  vain  do  we  look  in  our  nature  for  any- 
thing that  ;is  good."  J 

He  reiterates  this  sentiment  again  and  again,  apparently 
seeking,  by  sweep  of  condemnation,  to  leave  no  loophole  for 
human  self-respect.     Witness  this  : 

"  Everything  in  man,  the  understanding  and  the  will,  the  soul 
and  body,  is  polluted.  .  .  .  Man  is,  of  himself,  nothing  else  than 
concupiscence."  § 

tstatesmen  or  the  swords  of  the  greatest  warriors." — History  of  theBefor- 
mation  in  the  Time  of  Calvin  (New  York  Ed.,  1865),  voL  iii.  pp.  170, 172. 

Tulloch,  with  whom  Calvin  is  no  special  favorite,  admits  him  to  be 
"  the  greatest  Biblical  commentator  of  his  age,"  and  characterizes  his 
Institutes  as  "  the  charter  of  the  great  movement  to  which  he  was  des- 
tined to  give  theological  consistency  and  moral  triumph." — Leaders  of 
the  Reformation^  pp.  103  and  167. 

*  "Decretum  quidem  horribile  fateor,"  are  his  words. — Institutes^ 
Book  3,  Chap.  23. 

t  Inst.,  B.  2,  C.  1,  §  1.  t  ^rist.,  B.  2,  C.  3,  §  19  and  §  2. 

§  /:».s«.,B.  2,  C.  1,  §10. 


76  SUNDRY   DO(JTRIffES  . 

Now  and  then  one  is  tempted  to  infer  that  he  deemod  idl 
human  effort  to  reform  the  race  but  folly  and  waste  of  tim& 
He  says : 

"  Man  caunot  be  excited  or  biassed  to  anything  but  what  is 
e  vil.  If  this  be  so,  there  is  no  impropriety  in  affirming  that  he 
is  under  the  necessity  of  sinning."  * 

This  looks  to  the  Deity  as  the  author  of  evil ;  and  Calvin 
meets  the  issue  squarely.  He  scouts,  as  subterfuge  which  God 
himself  rejects,  the  idea  that  sin  and  crime  occur  "  by  the  per- 
mission and  not  by  the  will  of  God."  He  says  that  wicked 
men  and  the  devil  himself  "  can  effect  nothing  but  by  the  secret 
will  of  God."  In  illustration  he  adds  :  "  God  intends  the  de- 
ception of  that  perfidious  king,  Ahab  ;  the  devil  offers  his  ser- 
vices for  that  purpose,  and  is  sent  with  a  positive  commission  to 
be  a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  the  prophets."  (1  Kings  xxii. 
20-23.)  .  .  .  "Absalom,  defiling  his  father's  bed  with  incest, 
perpetrated  a  detestable  crime ;  yet  God  pronounces  that  this 
was  His  work.  .  .  .  Whatever  cruelties  the  Chaldeans  exer- 
cised in  Judea,  Jeremiah  pronounces  it  to  be  the  work  of  God."  f 

But  "  while  God,  by  means  of  the  impious,  fulfils  his  secret 
decrees,  they  are  not  excusable."  J 

Again,  in  the  face  of  that  sentiment,  common  to  every  creed, 
which  prompts  men,  in  hours  of  sorrow  or  peril,  to  invoke  on 
themselves,  or  on  those  they  love,  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty, 
Calvin,  true  to  his  belief  in  human  worthlessness,  says :  ^*  God 
finds  nothing  in  men  which  can  incite  him  to  bless  them."  § 

He  goes  further  still.  It  is  a  daring  thing  to  speak  of  inno- 
cence that  has  never  sinned,  as  steeped  in  pollution  and  hateful 
to  its  Maker;  but  that  is  among  the  corollaries  of  Calvin's 
favorite  doctrine  ;  and  he  courageously  admits  that  it  is;  thus: 

"  We  derive  an  innate  depravity  from  our  very  birth :  the 
denial  of  this  is  an  instance  of  consummate  impudence.  .  .  . 
All  children,  without  a  single  exception,  are  polluted,  as  soon 

*  Inst,,  B.  2,  C.  3,  §  5.  %  ^^i--,  B.  1,  C.  18,  §  4. 

t  Inst.,  B.  1,  C.  18,  §  4.  §  Inst,  B.  3,  C.  14,  §  5. 


77 

as  they  exist.  .  .  .  Infants  themselves,  as  they  bring  theii 
condemnation  into  the  world  with  them,  are  rendered  obnox- 
ious to  punishment  by  their  own  sinfulness.  For  though  they 
have  not  yet  produced  the  fruits  of  their  iniquity,  yet  they 
have  the  seed  of  it  in  them :  their  whole  nature  cannot  but  be 
odious  and  abominable  to  God."  * 

But  his  doctiine  of  predestination  carries  him  even  beyond 
this :  that  doctrine  is  thus  stated  : 

"  God  elected  whom  he  would,  and,  before  they  were  bom, 
laid  up  in  reserve  for  them  the  grace  with  which  he  determined 
to  fe,vor  them.  .  .  .  His  foresight  of  our  future  holiness  was 
not  the  cause  of  his  choice.  .  .  .  The  grace  of  God  deserves 
not  the  sole  praise  of  our  election,  unless  this  election  be 
gratuitous :  now  it  could  not  be  gratuitous  if,  in  choosing  his 
people,  God  himself  considered  what  would  be  the  nature  of 
their  respective  works."  f 

According  to  this  Calvinistic  theory  even  free  will  is  denied 
to  us ;  nor  is  God's  grace  offered  except  to  a  few  of  the  favored 
among  His  creatures.  "  Man  is  not  possessed  of  free  will  for 
good  works  unless  he  be  assisted  by  grace,  and  that  special 
grace  whick  is  bestowed  on  the  elect  alone  in  regeneration. 
For  I  stop  not  to  notice  those  fanatics  who  pretend  that  grace 
is  offered  equally  and  promiscuously  to  all."  | 

After  this,  one  can  understand  on  what  grounds  he  bases  the 
assertion :  "  Conversion  is  entirely  of  God,  because  we  are  not 
sufficient  even  to  thiuk."  § 

Taken  in  connection  with  Calvin's  idea  of  hell,  and  of  the 
small  numbers  of  the  elect,  this  dogma  predestines  countless 
millions  of  the  unborn,  without  any  reference  to  their  good  or 
bad  conduct  in  the  future,  or  to  their  repentance,  to  eternal 
torments.  Does  this  imply  that  the  vast  majority  of  the  human 
race  are  hated  by  their  Creator  ?  Calvin,  inexorable  in  hia 
logic,  confesses  that  it  does.     "  Jacob  and  Esau,"  he  reminds 

•  Inst,  B.  2,  C.  1,  §§  5,  0,  8.  f  Inst.  B.  3,  C.  22,  §§  2,  3 

t  Inst.,  B.  2,  C  2,  §  6.  §  Inst.,  B.  2,  C.  3,  §  6.. 


78  DOOTKINE   OF   ELECTION. 

US,  "  are  brothers  begotten  of  the  same  parents,  still  enclosea 
in  the  same  womb,  not  yet  brought  forth  to  light ;  there  is,  in 
all  respects,  a  perfect  equality  between  them ;  yet  the  judgmeni 
of  God  concerning  them  is  different :  for  He  takes  the  one  and 
leaves  the  other.  .  .  .  The  children  being  not  yet  born,  neither 
having  done  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God  according  to 
election  might  stand,  not  of  works  but  of  him  that  calleth,  it 
was  said :  '  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I  hated.' "  * 
When  one  reads,  in  connection  with  this  commentary,  the 
strange  story  to  which  Calvin  here  refers,f  one  seems  to  hear 
the  wail,  throughout  the  universe,  of  millions  on  millions  of 
outcast  step-children,  crying  out,  like  rejected  Esau,  in  vain : 
"  Bless  me,  even  me  also,  oh  my  Father  !  " 

"Referring  elsewhere  to  this  narrative  and  Paul's  text,  of 
which  he  makes  frequent  use,  and  to  the  fact  that  Jacob,  "  with- 
out any  merit  acquired  by  good  works,  is  made  an  object  of 
grace,"  Calvin  does  not  scruple  to  add  :  "  If  we  turn  our  atten- 
tion to  works  we  insult  the  apostle."  J 

One  may  conjecture  the  source  whence  came,  to  the  Keform- 
ers,  the  idea  that  good  works  have  nothing  to  do  in  effecting 
man's  salvation.  In  the  Augsburg  Confession,  after  a  complaint 
that  "  Catholic  traditions  obscure  the  commandments  of  God," 
it  is  added :  "  The  whole  of  Christianity  was  thought  to  consist 
in  the  observance  of  certain  holy  days,  rites,  fasts,  and  vest- 
ments." §     The  feeling  evidently  was  that  this  was  but  a  Phar- 

*  Lut,  B.  3,  C.  23,  §§  4,  5.  The  text  wherein  this  doctrine  is 
found  (Romans  ix.  11,  13)  is  here  quoted  literally;  it  is  supported  by 
Malachi  i.  2,  3. 

Another  might  have  been  at  a  loss  to  explain  how  Jacob,  living  seven- 
teen hundred  years  before  the  time  when  Christ  made  atonement  for 
the  sins  of  mankind,  could  have  been  one  of  the  elect ;  but  Calvin 
overstrides  the  difficulty,  telling  us  :  "It  ought  not  to  be  doubted  that 
Jacob  was  ingrafted,  with  angels,  into  the  body  of  Christ."  .(Dubitare 
nainime  debeat  Jacob  cum  angelis  insitum  fuesse  in  Christi  corpus.") 
-Inst,  B.  3,  C.  22,  §  6. 

t  aenesis  xxvii.  1-40.  %  ^^i-,  B.  3,  C.  23,  §  11 . 

§  Augs'.'urg  Confession,  Part  2,  Article  5. 


ATX   HUMAN  ACTIONS  HELD  TO  BE  SENFUL.  70 

isaical  making  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  plattei 
But  if  such  was  the  original  source,  it  was  soon  lost  sight  of  ia 
the  mazes  of  theology.  Calvin  takes  special  pains  to  inform  ua 
that,  aside  from  that  faith  which  saves,  the  most  virtuous  life 
leads  only  to  hell.  He  says  that  though  what  we  call  good 
men  "  may  be  esteemed  worthy  of  admiration  for  their  reputed 
virtue  ;  though  they  are  instruments  used  by  God  for  the  pre- 
servation of  human  society,  by  the  exercise  of  justice,  contin 
ence,  friendship,  temperance,  fortitude,  and  prudence,"  yet  if 
they  "  are  sti-angers  to  the  religion  of  the  one  true  God,"  they 
*'  not  only  merit  no  reward,  but  are  rather  deserving  of  punish- 
ment, because  they  contaminate  the  pure  gifts  of  God  with  the 
pollution  of  their  own  hearts.*  .  .  .  They  who  have  no  inter- 
est in  Christ,  whatever  be  their  character  or  their  actions  or 
their  endeavors,  are  constantly  advancing,  through  the  whole 
course  of  their  lives,  toward  destruction  and  the  sentence  of 
eternal  death."  f 

This  is  not  an  isolated  expression  of  sentiment ;  the  main 
idea  breaks  forth  throughout  the  entire  work.  Here  is  an  ex- 
ample :  "  The  most  splendid  works  of  men  not  yet  ti-uly  sancti- 
fied are  so  far  from  righteousness  in  the  divine  view  that  they 
are  accounted  sins.  .  .  ,  The  works  of  a  man  do  not  conciliate 
God's  favor  in  his  person."  J 

And  here  is  another,  showing  that  Calvin  regarded  this  as 
the  chief  point  of  diiference  between  the  Reformers  and  their 
opponents  :  "  There  never  was  an  action  performed  by  a  pious 
man  which,  if  examined  by  the  scrutinizing  eye  of  divine 
justice,  would  not  deserve  condemnation.  .  .  .  This  is  the  prin- 
cipal hinge  on  wliich  our  controversy  with  the  Papists  turns."  § 

*  So  incautioxis  is  the  wording  here,  that  one  might  ahnost  suppose 
the  author  had  conceived  the  idea  that  the  best  efforts  of  man  to  lead  a 
purer  life — to  practise  justice,  continence,  temperance,  prudence — were 
deadly  sins,  inasmuch  as  this  is  but  a  culpable  mixiag  up  of  Christian 
graces  with  the  inevitable  corruptions  of  the  human  heart. 

t  Inst,  B.  3,  C.  14,  §§  3,  4.  %  Inst.,  B.  3,  C.  14,  §  8 

%In8t..K  3,0.14,  §11. 


RO  INCEEDIBLE   LENGTHS   TO   WHICH 

One  is  constantly  reminded,  in  reading  these  sixteenth-cen« 
tury  Keformers.  of  the  incredible  lengths  to  which  the  nature  of 
their  doctrines  was  wont  to  lead  them ;  as,  for  example,  to  the 
declaration  of  Calvin  that  a  part  of  this  world  only  belongs  to 
God.  He  (Calvin)  says  that  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  I 
pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  which  Thou  hast  given 
me  "  *  (John  xvii.  9),  afford  proof  "  that  the  whole  world  does 
not  belong  to  its  Creator  ("  unde  fit  ut  totus  mundus  ad  suum 
Creatorem  non  pertineat")  ;  only  that  grace  delivers  from  the 
curse  and  wrath  of  God,  and  from  eternal  death,  a  few  who 
would  otherwise  perish,  but  leaves  the  world  in  its  destruction 
to  which  it  has  been  destined,  f 

Another  dismal  corollary  is  this:  Calvin  did  not  believe 
that  either  love  of  God,  or  imitation  of  Christ,  is  efficient  to 
salvation ;  we  must  seek  to  appease  our  Creator's  anger — there 
must  be  fear,  he  thought — else  all  self-sacrifice — every  ofiering 
of  the  heart — is  to  the  Creator  but  abomination.  These  are 
his  words :  "  No  man  can  descend  into  himself  and  seriously 
consider  his  own  character  without  perceiving  that  God  is  angry 
with  him  and  hostile  to  him,  and  consequently  he  must  find 
himself  under  a  necessity  of  anxiously  seeking  some  way  to  ap- 
pease Him.  .  .  .  The  beginning  of  the  observance  of  God's 
law  is  an  unfeigned  fear  of  His  name.  If  that  be  wanting,  all 
the  oblations  made  to  him  are  not  merely  trifles,  but  nauseous 


*  It  is  remarkable,  ia  connection  with  this  verse  from  St.  John,  that, 
according  to  another  evangelist,  Jesus'  last  prayer  on  earth  was  for  his 
murderers.    See,  as  to  John  xvii.,  note  on  succeeding  pp.  271,373. 

f  Imt.,B.3,C.  23,  §7. 

And  if  Calvin's  earnestness  is  proof  against  the  incredible,  so  is  it 
also  against  the  ridiculous.  Who  but  himself  would  not  have  been  de- 
terred by  inkluig  of  the  ludicrous  from  such  comment  on  a  scriptural 
metaphor  as  this  ?  After  quoting  Christ's  words,  "  The  sheep  follow 
the  shepherd,  for  they  know  his  voice,"  Calvin's  comment  is:  "  Now 
no  man  makes  himself  a  sheep,  but  is  created  such  by  divine  grace." 
("Nemo,  enim,  se  ovem  facit,  sed  formatur  coelesti  gratia.")- —i??^^., 
B.  3,  C.  22,  §  8. 


Calvin's  DOcrftrNES  lead.  81 

and  atominable  pollutions.  Let  hypocrites  go  now  and,  retain- 
ing depravity  in  their  hearts,  endeavor  by  their  works  to  merit 
the  favor  of  God."  * 

Here  naturally  suggest  themselves  the  questions  :  If  not  by 
love  of  God,  if  not  by  leading  a  life  of  purity  and  benevolence, 
htfw,  under  this  system,  is  man  to  appease  an  angry  and  hostile 
Creator  ?  How  is  he  to  escape  hell  ?  The  Eeformer's  answer 
is :  By  belief,  not  by  acts.  Those  who  have  an  assurance  oi 
election  are  the  elect :  but  the  elect,  and  the  elect  only,  are 
saved  by  vicarious  atonement  made  by  the  Son  of  God.  f 

This  assurance  that  we  are  the  favored  of  God  is  held  by 
Calvin  to  be  omnipotent  to  save  sinners  even  though,  after  ob- 
taining it,  they  indulge  in  gross  sins.  Witness  the  following 
passage,  occurring  in  connection  with  his  favorite  illustration 
from  Komans  ix.  11,  13:  "Rebecca,  having  been  divinely  as- 
sured of  the  election  of  her  son  Jacob,  procures  him  the  bene- 
diction by  a  sinful  artifice ;  she  deceives  her  husband,  the  wit- 
ness and  minister  of  the  grace  of  God  ;  she  constrains  her  son 
to  utter  falsehoods ;  she  corrupts  the  truth  of  God  by  various 
frauds  and  impostures."  This,  Calvin  calls,  "  transgi-essing  the 
limits  of  the  word ; "  and  he  excuses  her  action :  "  for,"  says  he, 
"as  the  particular  error  of  Jacob  did  not  annul  the  effect  of  the 
benediction,  so  neither  did  it  destroy  the  faith  which  generally 
predominated  in  her  mind,  and  was  the  principle  and  cause  oi 
that  action."  J; 

Every  one  knows  that  Calvin  was  one  of  the  sternest  of  mor- 
alists, a;nd  we  cannot  rationally  suppose  that  he  really  intended 
to  palliate  vice,  or  to  excuse  a  vicious  life.  Observe,  however, 
in  what  manner,  led  away  by  love  of  a  dogma,  he  lays  himself 
open,  in  the  above  passage,  to  the  imputation  of  glossing  over 
deliberate  fraud  and  imposture,  when  such  sins  coexist  with  be- 
lief in  the  atonement. 

*7/w«.,B.  3,  C.  14,  §8. 

f  This  doctrine  will  be  f  cund,  a  few  pages  farther  on,  graphically  «ci 
out  by  the  powerful  pen  of  Luther. 
X  Inst.,B.d,C.  11,  §31. 
4* 


This  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone  is  very  concisely 
and  lucidly  set  forth  in  the  Augslr^rg  Confession : 

"  Men  cannot  be  justified  before  God  by  their  own  strength, 
merits,  or  works;  but  are  justified  freely,  for  Christ's  sake, 
through  faith,  when  they  believe  that  they  are  received  into  favor 
and  that  sins  are  remitted  on  account  of  Christ  who,  by  hia 
death,  made  satisfaction  for  our  sins.  This  faith  God  imputes 
for  righteousness.''''  * 

In  the  above  I  have  italicized  the  words  which  prove  that 
the  faith  which,  according  to  this  scheme  of  redemption,  ex- 
clusively wins  heaven,  is  a  belief  of  our  personal  favor 
with  the  Almighty,  resulting  in  our  election  and  adoption  by 
Him. 

Let  us  now  turn  from  the  Genevese  divine  to  his  great  Ger- 
man co-laborer. 

We  find,  as  between  the  two,  great  difierence  of  character, 
indeed,  but  no  essential  variation  in  creed.  One  cannot  doubt 
that,  in  a  general  way,  Luther  assented,  verbally  at  least,  to 
Calvin's  system  of  divinity,  as  set  out  in  the  "  Institutes ;  '*' 
since,  while  he  refused  the  hand  of  brotherhood  to  Zwingli  be- 
cause of  variance  on  a  single  doctrinal  point,  and  even  held  it 
to  be  likely  that  the  Swiss  Reformer,  after  dying  for  the  Pro^ 
testant  cause,  would  sufier  eternal  torments  f  because  of  disbe- 
lief in  the  "  real  presence," — he  remained  in  strict  fellowship 
with  Calvin  throughout  his  life.  Yet  he  might  have  said  to 
the  theologian  of  Geneva  with  more  truth  than  he  did  to  Ulrich 
Zwingli :  "  You  have  a  diflferent  spirit  from  ours."  Calvin's 
religion,  like  Jove's  armed  daughter,  was  the  offspring  of  hia 
brain  ;  Luther's,  of  his  heart.  The  two  had  this  in  common, 
that  >ihey  ran  the  convictions  which  they  had  once  assumed  as 


*  Augsburg  Confession^  Part  1,  Art.  4. 

f  "  I  wish  from  my  heart  Zwinglius  could  be  saved,  but  I  fear  the 
contrary ;  for  Christ  has  said  that  those  who  deny  him  shall  be  damned. " 
Luther:  in  2\iUe  Talk^  p.  324. 


AND   CHARA.CTEE   COMPAKED.  83 

premises,  to  their  legitimate  conclusions,  with  unflinching 
temerity ;  but  Luther's  heart  carried  him  into  a  region  com- 
fortable, genial,  even  jovial;  while  Calvin's  brain  tarried  in  a 
limbus,  stem  in  every  feature,  icy  cold,  dreary,  and,  as  regarda 
the  general  fate  of  humanity,  hopeless  and  implacable.  If  one 
u^ould  penetrate  to  the  essence  of  Lutheranism,  one  must  read 
Luther's  own  favorite  Commentary  on  the  Galatians.*  He 
there  summons  up,  indeed,  the  same  abasing  aspect  of  human 
nature,  f  that  imparts  so  lurid  a  gleam  to  Calvin's  writings ;  but 
the  heartiaess  of  the  man  and  the  unconventional  sprightlinesa 
of  his  style  break  out  over  the  saddening  picture,  lighting  it  up 
as  the  aurora  borealis  illuminates  northern  wastes.  Permit  me 
to  recall  to  your  recollection  one  or  two  of  its  more  notable 
passages,  in  illustration. 

The  one  idea  (held,  of  course,  in  common  with  Calviu)  that 
pervades  the  book  and  which  constitutes,  in  fact,  the  comer- 
stone  of  Luther's  entire  doctrinal  system,  J  is,  that  mankind, 

*  Luther  thought  his  own  best  works  to  have  been,  his  Commentariea 
on  Deuteronomy,  on  Galatians,  and  on  the  four  books  of  St.  John. — See 
Table  Talk,  p.  21. 

f  It  pervades  his  other  writing's  also,  and  it  was  wont  to  break  out  in 
his  conversation.  "We  have  altogether  a  confounded,  corrupt,  and 
poisoned  nature,  both  in  body  and  soul :  throughout  the  whole  of  man 
is  nothing  that  is  good." — Table  Talk,  p.  119. 

So  the  other  Reformers,  for  example  Melancthon:  "  Anima,  luce 
vitaque  coelesti  carens,  .  .  .  sua  quajrat,  non  cupiat,  non  veUt, 
nisi  camaha,"  etc. — Loci  Communes,  p.  18  (Ed.  Augusti). 

X  "  Luther  arrived  at  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  through  Christ 
wholly  independently  of  works  :  this  afforded  him  the  key  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  became  the  main  prop  to  his  whole  system  of  faith." — Ranke  : 
Hist,  of  tlie  Popes,  vol.  i  p.  186. 

Luther  himself  took  the  same  view  of  this  tenet.  He  says :  ' '  All  the 
other  articles  of  our  faith  are  comprehended  in  that  of  justification ;  and 
if  that  remain  sound  then  all  the  rest  are  sound." — Commentary  on 
Galatians,  at  chap.  iiL  verse  13.  And  again  (same  verse) :  "  This  ia 
the  principal  article  of  all  Christian  doctrine,  which  the  Popish  school- 
men have  altogether  darkened." 

So,  iu  his  preface  to  the  Commentary  on  the  Galatians,  his  chief  com- 


84:  CLOTHING    CHKIBT   WITH    3UR   fcJlNS. 

even  down  to  the  latest  generations,  steeped  in  sin  througli 
Adam's  transgression,  can  be  saved  from  an  eternal  hell  only 
•y  a  transfer  of  all  human  sins  to  Jesus  Christ.  Do  you  re* 
nember  how  vividly  he  sets  this  out  ? 

"  God  sent  his  only  son  into  the  world  and  laid  upon  him  all 
he  sins  of  all  men,  saying :  *  Be  thou  Peter,  that  denier ;  Paul, 
;hat  persecutor,  blasphemer,  and  cruel  oppressor ;  David,  that 
adulterer  ;  be  thou  that  sinner  that  did  eat  the  apple  in  Para- 
llse,  that  thief  which  hanged  upon  the  cross ;  in  brief,  be  thou 
thy  person  who  hath  committed  the  sins  of  ail  men  :  see,  there- 
fore, that  thou  pay  and  satisfy  them.'  Here  now  cometh  the 
law  and  saith  :  *  1  find  him  a  sinner  and  indeed  such  an  one  as 
hath  taken  upon  him  +he  sins  of  all  men  ;  therefore  let  him  die 
upon  the  cross.'  And  so  he  setteth  upon  him  and  killeth  him. 
By  this  means  the  whole  world  is  purged  and  cleansed  from  all 
sins.  .  .  .  Therefore,  where  sins  are  seen  and  felt,  there  are 
they  indeed  no  sins ;  for,  according  to  Paul's  divinity,  there  is  no 
sin,  no  death,  no  malediction  any  more  in  the  world,  but  only 
in  Christ.  *  .  .  .  But  some  man  will  say  :  *  It  is  very  ab- 
surd and  slanderous  to  call  the  Son  of  God  a  cursed  sinner.'  I 
answer :  If  thou  wilt  deny  him  to  be  a  cursed  sinner,  deny  also 
that  he  was  crucified  and  died.  .  .  .  This  is  a  singular 
consolation  for  all  Christians,  so  to  clothe  Christ  with  our 
sins."t 

It  is  curious  to  note  how  the  man's  intense  perception  of  a 

plamt  against  Catholicism  is:  "  the  infinite  and  horrible  profanation 

and  abomination  which  always  hath  raged  in  the  Church  of  God,  and 

wen  at  this  day  ceaseth  not  to  rage,  against  this  only  and  grounded 

ock,  which  we  hold  to  be  the  article  of  our  justification." — Preface, 

..1. 

*  One  might  almost  suppose,  from  such  passages,  that  Luther  held 
miversaliat  doctrines.  Very  far  from  it.  ' '  G-od,  in  this  world,  has 
carce  the  tenth  part  of  the  people  ;  the  smallest  number  only  will  be 
aved.  ...  If  now  thou  wilt  know  why  so  few  are  saved  and  so 
infinitely  many  damned,  this  is  the  cause  :  the  world  will  not  heal 
Chxist:'— Table  Talk,  pp.  41,  43. 
+  Cammentari/  on  Galatians,  at  chap.  iii.  verse  13. 


CHAETTY   WOETKLESS?  85 

Biug^e  favorite  doctrine  like  this  led  him  on,  step  by  step,  until^ 
like  Aaron's  rod  before  Pharaoh,  it  swallowed  up  all  the  rest. 
Speukmg  of  "  the  phantastical  opinions  of  the  Papists  concern- 
ing the  "istification  of  works,"  he  says:  "They  do  imagine  a 
certain  faith  formed  and  adorned  with  charity.  By  this,  they 
say,  sins  are  taken  away  and  men  are  justified  before  God. 
But  what  else  is  this,  I  pray  you,  but  to  unwrap  Christ  and  to 
strip  him  quite  out  of  our  sins,  and  to  look  upon  them,  not  in 
Clirist,  but  in  ourselves.  Yea,  what  is  this  else  but  to  take 
Christ  clean  away,  and  to  make  him  utterly  unprofitable  to 
us."  * 

Again,  he  declared  it  to  be  blasphemy,  inspired  by  the  devil, 
to  say  that  faith  without  works  was  dead,  or  to  assert  that 
faith,  unfruitful  of  works,  was  not  omnipotent  to  gain  heaven 
for  the  believer.  One  would  i-ead  with  incredulity  in  these 
modern  days,  if  the  original  was  not  still  extant  in  proof,  such 
a  passage  as  the  following : 

"  The  perverters  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  teach  that  even  that 
faith  which  they  call  faith  infused  {fides  infiLsa),  not  received 
by  hearing  nor  gotten  by  any  working,  but  created  in  man  by 
(he  Holy  Ghost,  may  stand  with  deadly  sin,  and  that  the  wick- 
edest men  may  have  this  feith.  Therefore,  they  say,  if  it  be 
alone  it  is  idle  and  utterly  unprofitable.  Thus  they  take  from 
faith  her  office  and  give  it  unto  charity  :  so  that  faith  is  noth- 
ing, except  charity,  which  they  call  the  form  and  perfection 
thereof,  be  joined  withal.  This  is  a  devilish  and  blasphemous 
kind  of  doctrine.  .  .  .  For  if  charity  be  the  form  and 
perfection  of  faith  (as  they  dream),  then  am  I  by  and  by  con- 
strained to  say  that  charity  is  the  chief  part  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  so  I  lose  Christ,  his  blood  and  his  benefits ;  and 
now  I  rest  altogether  in  a  moral  doing  even  as  the  Pope,  the 
heathen  philosopher,  and  the  Turk."  f 

Yet  again :  "  The  true  doing  of  the  law  is  a  faithful  and  a 

*  Commentary  on  Galatians,  at  chap,  iii,  verse  13. 
f  CoTmnentary  on  GalaUans^  at  chap,  iii  verse  11. 


S6  MOKAI.    WORKERS    ACCURSED. 

spiritual  doing,  which  he  hath  not  that  seeketh  righteousnesw 
by  works.  Therefore  every  doer  of  the  law  and  every  morat 
worker  is  accursed ;  for  he  walketh  in  the  presumption  of  hia 
own  righteousness  against  God."  * 

This  doctrine  appears,  without  its  Lutheran  intensity,  yet  sub- 
stantially the  same,  in  the  text-book  of  early  Protestantism, 
the  Augsburg  Confession.  "We  read  there ;  "  works  cannot 
reconcile  us  to  God,  or  merit  remission  of  sins,  grace  and  justi 
fication,  but  we  obtain  this  by  faith  only."  It  is  added  :  "  Oui 
divines  teach  that  it  is  necessary  to  do  good  works,  not  that 
we  may  trust  by  them  to  merit  grace,  but  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God."  And  alluding  to  the  accusations  falsely  brought 
against  them  "  of  prohibiting  good  works,"  they  declare  that 
they  have  "wholesomely  taught  all  the  modes  and  duties  of 
life,  what  ways  of  life,  what  works  in  any  calling,  are  pleasing 
to  God ; "  while  their  adversaries  "  urged  puerile  and  unneces- 
sary works,  such  as  certain  holy  days,  certain  fasts,  fraterni- 
ties, pilgrimages,  worship  of  saints,  rosaries,  monasticism  and 
the  like."  \ 

*  In  the  English  version  which  I  have  followed,  the  words  I  have 
italicized  are  not  very  strictly  rendered ;  the  original  being  even  stronger 
than  the  translation,  thus  :  ' '  Ideo  maledictus  est  omnis  Legis  operator, 
et  moralis  Sanctus :  "  Uterally  "  moral  Saint."  Luther  might  have  been 
thinking  of  the  morality  of  monkish  austerity ;  at  all  events,  his  trans- 
lator seems  to  have  been  afraid  to  follow  him  ;  seeing  that  Saint  has 
been  often  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  elect. 

f  All  the  above  quotations  will  be  found  in  article  20,  part  21,  of 
the  Augsburg  Confession.  I  have  followed  the  translation  by  the  Rev 
Henry  Teal,  M.A.,  London,  1842;  who  appears  to  have  executed  his 
task  with  critical  care. 

Considering  that  the  Lutheran  Church  of  America  recently  adopted  a 
resolution  that ' '  this  General  Synod  .  .  .  maintains  the  divine  ob- 
ligation of  the  Christian  Sabbath  "  (Annual  Cyclopedia  for  1868,  p.  443), 
it  is  worthy  of  notice,  in  connection  with  tbe  above  dictum  touching  ' '  pue- 
rile and  uimecessary  works,"  that  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  (articlfi 
7  of  part  2)  the  following  plain  words  occur  :  ' '  They  who  judge  that, 
by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  the  observing  of  the  Lord's  day, 
instead  of  the  Sabbath  day,  was  ordained  as  a  thing  necessary,  do 


87 

Thus,  though  the  Keformers  taught  that  faith  requires  no 
works  of  us,*  they  not  only  inculcated,  in  their  sermons,  strict 
morality;  but  the  chief  leaders,  as  Luther,  Calvin,  Melancthon, 
Zwiuglij  illustrated,  by  their  exemplary  lives,  the  morals  they 
taught.f 

Bnt  it  behooves  us  to  bear  in  mind  that  a  man's  upright  in- 
tention, or  his  good  life,  is  one  thing,  and  the  tendency  of  the 
opinions  he  holds,  or  the  doctrines  he  teaches,  quite  another. 

greatly  err.  The  Scripture  which  teaches  that  the  Mosaic  ceremordea 
since  the  revelation  of  the  Gospel  may  be  omitted,  has  abrogated  the 
Sabbath.  And  yet,  because  it  was  needful  to  ordain  a  certain  day, 
that  the  people  might  know  "when  they  ought  to  come  together,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  Church  appointed  the  Lord's  day, — which  day  seems  to 
have  pleased  the  more  for  this  cause  also,  that  men  might  have  an  ex- 
ample of  Christian  liberty  and  know  that  neither  the  obsereance  of  thi 
Sabbath^  nor  of  any  otlier  day^  was  necessa/ryJ*'' — TeaJ^s  Translation,  pp. 
78,  79. 

No  human  institution  is  more  need'^d  or  more  valuable  than  the  set- 
ting apart  one  day  in  seven  as  a  time  of  rest  from  worldly  turmoU  and 
of  quiet  for  spiritual  thought.  Nevertheless  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  views  of  the  Augsburg  Confessionists  as  to  the  religious  obligation 
in  this  matter  accord  with  the  spirit  of  Christ's  teachings  (Mark  ii.  27, 
etc.),  and  Paul's  (Colossians  ii.  16).  They  evince  philological  accuracy 
also,  seeing  that  there  is  no  Christian  Sabbath.  The  Italians  properly 
call  Saturday,  Sabato ;  while  they  term  Sunday,  Domenica,  corre- 
sponding to  our  "  Lord's  Day." 

*  "  Faith  requireth  no  works  of  us,  or  that  we  should  give  anything 
unto  God,  but  that  we,  beheving  the  promise  of  God,  should  receive  of 
him." — Com.  oil  Oalatians,  chap.  iii.  v.  12. 

f  When  some  one  drew,  from  Zwingli's  belief  in  predestination,  the 
practical  inference  that  the  elect  could  not  be  harmed,  sin  as  they 
might,  the  Swiss  Reformer's  reply  was,  that  "  whoso  argues  thus  fur- 
nishes proof  that  he  himself  is  not  among  the  elect." — See  his  De 
Providentia  Dei.,  Opera,  vol.  iv.  p.  140. 

In  this  work  (Opera  iv.  pp.  79,  109, 113),  ZwingU  inculcates  the  doc- 
trine of  Predestination,  running  it  out  to  aU  its  logical  consequences : 
asserting,  for  example,  that  the  sin  of  Adam  was  originally  included  in 
God's  plan ;  as  also  the  scheme  of  redemption.  This  is  Calvin's  opinion 
ilso ;  he  terms  the  exclusion  of  the  fail  of  the  first  man  from  the  divin« 
predeetination,  B,frigidum  commentum. — Imt.,  B.  3,  C.  23,  §  7.   . 


88 

Diderot  taught  atheism  and  openly  avowed  enmity  to  all  relig 
ious  ideas  :*  yet  the  sincerity  of  his  enthusiasm  in  such  ten^.tl 
is  beyond  question,  his  works  having  been  condemned  to  the 
flames,  and  himself  to  prison  for  teaching  them.  The  sceptical 
D'Alembert,  Diderot's  co-laborer  in  the  JBJncyclopcedie,  stroQgly 
expressed,  in  his  correspondence  with  Voltaire,  his  disbelief  in 
Christianity ;  yet  his  benevolence  was  proverbial  and  his  life 
without  a  stain,  f  But  because  such  writers  have  upright  mo- 
tives, or  lead  virtuous  lives,  are  we  thence  to  conclude  that 
the  belief  in  atheism  is  no  injury  to  mankind,  or  that  the  world 
could  do  quite  as  well  without  religion  ? 

These  remarks  have  strictest  application  when,  in  the  works 
of  any  author  how  estimable  soever,  we  come  upon  such  a  pas- 
sage as  the  following :  "  Thus  you  find  how  richly  gifted  is  a 
Christian  and  baptized  man,  who,  even  if  he  wills  it,  cannot 
forfeit  his  salvation  by  how  many  sins  soever,  unless  he  is  un- 

*  Diderot  etait  un  des  ennemis  les  plus  achaanes  du  Christianisme. 
et  inline  de  toute  idee  religieuse ;  il  prof essait  ouvertement  le  material- 
isme  et  I'atheisme,  et  prechait  ces  doctrines  desolantes  avec  tine  sorte 
d'enthusiasme  etde  fanatisme. — ^Bouillon  :  Dictionnaire  de  Biographis 
Umcerselle,  art.  "  Diderot." 

f  "D'Alembert  possedait  des  qualitea  quil'ont  fait  aimer  et  es- 
timer  de  tous  ses  contemporains ;  an  plus  vif  amour  pour  la  science,  il 
joignait  la  bienfaisance  et  le  desinteressement.  .  .  .  H  entretint 
avec  Voltaire  une  correspondance  suivie  qui  a  ete  pubHee  apres  leur 
mort :  tous  deux  y  exhalent  leur  haine  contre  la  religion  cliretienne." — 
Bouillon:  Dlctionnaire  deBlographie  Umverselle,  axb.  "D'Alembert." 

' '  When  D'Alembert's  income  amounted  to  8,300  francs,  he  gave  away 
one  half.  .  .  .  The  Bishop  of  Limoges  said  of  him,  during  his  life, 
*  His  manners  are  simple  and  his  conduct  without  a  stain.'  ...  He 
was  the  first  mathematician  of  his  day,  and  La  Harpe  says  of  him  :  '  I 
know  D'Alembert  well  enough  to  be  able  to  say  that  he  was  sceptical 
in  everything  except  mathematics.  .  .  .  Himself  tolerating  all  opin- 
ions, what  he  censured  in  the  atheists  was  their  intolerant  arrogance. 
.  .  .  Had  it  not  been  for  his  correspondence  with  Voltaire,  the 
world  would  not  have  known  except  by  implication  what  his  opinions 
were.  His  published  writings  contain  no  expression  offensive  to  reh'g 
ion."— P(0?i7i^  C^dopcedia,  art.  "D'Alembert." 


flUMAN   WILL   AS   A   BEAST   OF   BUKDEN".  89 

trilling  to  believe.     Eor  no  sins  have  power  to  damn  him  sav« 
only  the  sin  of  incredulity."  * 

Finally,  the  evil  tendency  of  such  opinions  is  aggravated,  in 
Luther's  case,  by  his  fatalist  doctrines,  pushed  even  to  a  dis- 
tinct denial  of  man's  free  agency.  Think  of  the  practical  ejBTect 
— how  deadening  and  discouraging  to  all  virtuous  effort — of 
such  a  passage  as  this :  "  The  human  will  is  placed  between 
two,  even  as  a  beast  of  burden.  If  God  mounts  it,  it  wishes 
and  goes  as  God  wills.  ...  If  Satan  mounts  it,  it  wishes 
and  goes  as  Satan  wills.  Nor  is  it  free  to  run  toward,  or  select, 
either  rider  :  it  is  the  riders  themselves  who  contend  which  shall 
obtain  and  hold  possession."  f 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  original  documents  will  bear 
me  witness  that  the  foregoing  brief  synopsis  of  Protestant  opin- 
ions in  the  sixteenth  century,  while  it  omits,  for  brevity's  sake, 
many  details,  neither  exaggerates  nor  extenuates  the  founda- 

*  This  passage  occurs  in  Luther's  Treatise :  De  Cwptimtate  Bahylo- 
nica^  1520 ;  the  original  reading  thus:  " Ita  vides  quam  dives  sit  homo 
Christianas  et  baptisatus,  qui  etiam  volens  non  potest  perdere  salutem 
Buam  quantiscunque  peccatis,  nisi  nolet  credere.  Nulla  enim  peccata 
eum  possunt  damnare  nisi  sola  incredulitas." 

There  are  other  passages  of  similar  purport  in  Luther's  works  even 
more  offensively  expressed.  In  a  letter  to  Melancthon  (1521),  quoted 
and  excused  by  Archbishop  Hare,  occurs  a  weU-known  sentence : 
' '  Sufficit  quod  agnovimus  per  divitias  gloriaB  Dei  Agnum,  qui  tollit 
peccata  mundi ;  ab  hoc  non  avellet  nos  peccatum,  etiamsi  millies,  mil- 
lies  imo  die  fomicamur  aut  occidamus." 

By  an  opponent  of  Luther  the  words  "  uno  die"  have  been  trans- 
lated, incorrectly  of  course,  ' '  every  day :  "  but  even  as  it  stands  (how- 
ever pure  may  have  been  the  writer's  intention)  it  would  be  a  lack  of 
candor  to  deny  that  it  supplies,  to  evil-minded  men,  plausible  apology 
for  murder  and  incontinence. 

f  ' '  Sic  humana  voluntas  in  medio  posita  est,  ceu  jumentum.  Si  insed- 
erit  Deus,  vult  et  vadit  quo  vult  Deus,  ut  Psalmus  dicit :  '  F  actus  sum 
sicut  jumentum  et  ego  semper  tecum.'  Si  insederit  Satan,  vult  et  vadit 
quo  vult  Satan.  Nee  est  in  ejus  arbitrio  ad  utrum  sessorem  currere  aut 
eum  quaerere,  sed  ipsi  scssores  certant  ob  ipsum  obtinendnm  et  possid 
endum."— Luther  :  De  Servo  Arbitrio^  part  I.  sec.  34. 


90  SHALL   THE   FIGHT   OF   FAITH   BE 

tion- doctrines  on  which  rested  the  theological  system  put  forth 
by  the  I  leaders  of  the  E/eformation ;  to  wit,  the  atonement,  in- 
cluding justification  by  faith  alone;  the  fall,  the  utter  deprav 
ity  of  man,  and  predestination. 

Such  a  synopsis  was  indispensable  in  treating  the  great  his- 
torical problem  to  which  I  now  revert. 


§  9.  What  Lesson  Does  the  History  of  the  Keformation 

TEACH? 

"Revealed  religion  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a  progressive  science.  .  .  . 
We  have  no  security  for  tlie  future  against  the  prevalence  of  any  theo- 
logical error  that  has  ever  prevailed  m  time  past  among  Christian 
men." — ^IMacaulay.  * 

Is  that  the  lesson  taught?  Guardians  of  the  Protestant 
faith,  is  that  the  Protestant  reply  ? 

If  not,  bestow,  I  pray  you,  dispassionate  attention  on  the 
historical  and  statistical  facts ;  and  give  your  version  of  the 
explanation. 

Three  hundred  years,  observe! — from  1570  to  1870 — and 
still,  from  a  Protestant  stand-point,  retrogression,*  retrogres- 
sion !  At  the  beginning  of  that  term,  an  overwhelming  Protes- 
tant majority  in  Europe;  at  the  end  of  the  three  hundred 
years,  two  Catholics  there  for  every  one  Protestant.  Among 
ourselves,  at  the  present  day,  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics 
both  increasing,  indeed ;  but  at  a  ratio  of  increase  so  different, 
in  each  sect  respectively,  that  if  it  continues  for  a  third  of  a 

*  Already  quoted,  with  context,  at  page  44.  Men,  in  the  orthodox 
ranks,  who  have  probably  bestowed  more  thought  on  this  subject 
than  Macaulay,  have  reached  conclusions  similar  to  his. 

'  •  The  same  impediment  which  prevents  the  formation  of  Theology 
as  a  science,  is  also  manifestly  fatal  to  the  theory  which  assert  its  pro- 
gressive developments — Mansel  :  Limits  of  Religious  TJimight^  4th  Ed., 
London,  1859.     (Bampton  Lectures.)     The  italics  are  in  the  originaL 


FOUGHT   OUT  ON   THE   SAME  LINE.  91 

ajntury  more,  Roman  Catholics  will  outnumber  Piotestants  in 
tlie  United  States.* 

How  much  longer  are  we  to  wait  for  the  turning  of  the 
Spiritual  tide  ?  If  we  fight  out  this  fight  of  faith  on  the  same 
line,  what  reasonable  hope  is  there  that  the  tide  will  turn  in 
our  favor  at  all  ? 

After  a  monition  continued  throughout  so  large  a  portion  of 
civilized  history — after  so  persistent  a  trial  resulting  in  such 
miserable  failure — ought  we  still  to  continue  the  strife,  with 
front  unchanged,  hoping  against  hope  in  the  future  ? 

— Hoping  against  hope !  For  what  a  terrible  thing  would  it 
be  to  conclude  that  it  was  Christ's  very  teachings,  spiritual  and 
ethical,  which  have  been  on  probation  for  three  centuries,  in 
the  most  enlightened  portions  of  the  world,  and  that  have  lost 
ground  throughout  all  that  time,  and  are  losing  it  stiil,  against 
a  Church  that  proclaims  the  Ultimate  and  the  Infallible  to  be 
hers,  and  denies  to  the  religious  element  in  man  alike  liberty 
and  progress ! 

Let  us  glance  at  the  record,  as  a  connected  whole,  in  a  trust- 
ful, and  candid,  and  catholic  spirit,  ere  we  adopt  a  conclusion 
that  might  well  cause  thoughtful  men  to  regard  the  future  of 
our  race  with  despair. 

The  Christian  record  consists  of  five  narratives — four,  by 
different  Evangelists,  of  tlie  doings  and  sayings  of  Christ,  one  of 
the  doings  of  his  disciples — and  (aside  from  the  Apocalypse) 
of  twenty-one  Epistles,  two-thirds  of  these  penned  by  Paul, 
who  knew  not  the  Great  Teacher,  nor  believed  in  his  teachings 
till  after  his  crucifixion ;  the  rest  (with  the  exception  of  two 
or   three    pages),  f   written   by   the   three   chief   among    the 


*  See  note  on  preceding  page  31. 

f  ' '  The  Epistle  of  Jude  is  too  unimportant  to  be  a  forgery ;  few  i)or- 
tions  of  Scripture,  with  reverence  be  it  spoken,  could  have  been  more 
ea^y  s^Qxedi.''^ —Dictionary  of  tJie  Bible,  art.  "Jude,"  (edited  by  WHi* 
LIAM  Smith,  LL  D.,  American  reprint,  Boston,  1863.) 


92  EPISTLES    TO    nOALVKS    AND    GALATIANS 

Twelve*  whom  their  Master,  at  the  commencement  of  his  pub 
lie  la))ors,  selected  as  special  associates  and  co-workers. 

Of  the  Evangelists,  two  certainly  (Matthew  and  John)  wen 
Apostles  who  had  daily  opportunities,  throughout  three  years, 
of  personal  intercourse  with  Jesus,  while  it  seems  likely  thai 
the  two  others  also,  Mark  and  Luke,  may  have  known  him, 
and  heard,  from  his  own  lips,  many  of  the  discourses  they  re- 
corded, f 

Now,  with  these  ancient  J  expositions  of  Christian  history 
and  doctrine  all  open  before  them,  how  did  the  Leaders  of  tlie 
Keformation  proceed  to  construct  for  the  world  a  system  of 
dogmatic  theology  ? 

Substantially,  by  selecting  portions  of  two  epistles,  both 
written  by  the  only  one  of  the  New  Testament  authors  as  to 
whom  we  know  that  he  never  was  acquainted  with  Jesus  nor 
ever  sat  under  his  ministry ;  and  by  employing  these  as  foun- 
dations and  corner-stone  of  their  entire  spiritual  edifice :  the 
foundations  being  laid  in  the  utter  depravity  of  all  human 
beings ;  their  condemnation  by  their  Maker,  as  criminals,  to 
eternal  torments ;  the  impossibility  of  deliverance  from  these 
torments  by  any  virtuous  effort,  how  earnest  and  persistent 

*  "  The  three,  Peter,  James,  and  John,  are  with  their  Lord  when  none 
else  are ;  m  the  chamber  of  death  (Mark  v.  37),  ia  the  glory  of  the 
transfiguration  (Matthew  xvii.  1),  when  he  forewarns  them  of  the  de- 
Btraction  of  the  Holy  City  (Mark  xiii.  3,  Andrew,  in  this  instance,  with 
them),  in  the  agony  of  Gethsemane." — Dictionary  of  the  Bihle^  art. 
"  John,"  vol.  i.  p.  1105. 

f  The  "  yomig  man"  mentioned  Mark  xiv.  51,  is  usually  supposed  to 
be  Mark  himself.  In  like  manner,  Luke  is  beheved  by  many  to  have 
been  one  of  the  two  disciples  to  whom  Christ  showed  himself  after 
death,  on  the  journey  to  Emmaus ;  or,  at  all  events,  to  have  been  one 
of  the  Seventy.     See  Dictionary  of  the  Bihle^  vol.  ii.  p.  151. 

X  The  narrative  of  Matthew  is  admitted  to  be  the  oldest  of  the  Gos- 
pels, written,  as  some  will  have  it,  eight  or  ten  years  only  after  Christ's 
death,  but  more  probably  about  the  year  50 ;  Mark  and  Luke  appear  to 
have  written  some  ten  or  twelve  years  later,  and  John  toward  the  doM 
of  the  first  century,  perhaps  about  the  year  90,  or  95. 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  POPULAR  THEOLOGY.       1>3 

soever :  and  the  corner-stone  *  being  the  escape  to  eternal  happi- 
ness of  a  mere  handful  out  of  a  vast  multitude,  j-  selected  not 
because  fchej  were  better  than  their  fellows — did  more  good,  were 
more  useful  in  their  day  and  generation — but  because  they  had 
adopted  two  articles  of  faith;  the  first,  that  this  minute  fraction 
of  human  kind,  and  they  alone,  pre-elected  of  God,  are  saved 
from  perdition  by  an  actual  transfer  of  their  sins  to  one  of  the 
three  persons  of  the  Godhead,  and  by  the  terrible  agonies  suf- 
fered by  that  Holy  Person  ;  J  the  second  (equally  imporuint), 
that  they  themselves  are  among  these  God-elected  few. 

I  think  all  careful  and  candid  students  of  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures will  admit  that  had  the  two  Epistles,  to  the  Romans  and 
to  the  Galatians,  never  been  written,  or  never  been  included  in 
the  canon  of  the  New  Testament,  the  above  dogmas  woidd 
never  have  become  the  basis  of  Protestantism.  I  do  not  deny 
that  if  we  select  some  six  or  eight  chapters  out  of  these  two 
Epistles,  shutting  our  eyes  to  the  rest  of  the  Christian  Scrip- 

*  Ltither  evidently  regarded  as  little  better  than  outcasts  all  who 
dissented  from  the  doctrine  of  imputed  righteousness.  "  If  the  article 
of  justification  be  once  lost,"  said  he,  "then  is  all  true  doctrine  lost; 
and  as  many  as  are  in  the  world  that  hold  not  this  doctrine  are  either 
Jews,  Tiirks,  Papists,  or  Heretics." — Argument  to  Commentary  on 
Galatians. 

And  modem  writers  of  authority  among  Protestants  stiU  take  a  similar 
view.  "  In  our  day  we  have  lost  sight  of  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  jus- 
tification by  faith.  .  .  .  The  principle  of  justification  by  God's  free 
grace,  which  dehvered  the  Church  from  such  deep  darkness  at  the 
period  of  the  Reformation,  can  alone  renew  this  generation — in  a  word, 
bring  back  to  God  the  world  that  has  forsaken  Him." — Merte 
D'AuBiGNE  :  History  of  tlie  Reformation,  Book  8. 

f  Calvin  puts  it  even  more  strongly  ;  he  speaks  of  professors  of  relig- 
ion as  "  a  great  multitude  in  which  the  children  of  God  are,  alas !  but 
a  handful  of  ^mknown  people,  like  a  few  grains  on  the  threshing-floor 
under  a  great  heap  of  straw."    Inst.,  B.  4,  C.  1. 

X  ' '  We  may  imagine  what  dreadful  and  horrible  agonies  Christ  must 
have  suffered  while  he  was  conscious  of  standing  at  the  tribunal  of  God, 
accuised  as  a  criminal  on  our  account." — last.^  B.  2,  C.  14,  §  12. 


94  LUTHEE   ASSERTS    HIS   EIGHT 

fcures,  we  may  logically  deduce  from  these  some  such  scheme  of 
rcidemption  as  the  Reformers  set  up. 

Had  Luther  and  Calvin  a  right  to  make  this  exclusive  selec- 
tion ?  Beyond  doubt  Luther  held  to  that  opinion.  With  hia 
usual  fearlessness,  he  claimed  the  privilege  to  judge  the  entire 
record,  holding  fast  to  what  seemed  to  him  from  the  Lord  and 
leaving  the  rest.  Following  the  spirit  of  a  Pauline  text,*  he 
says :  "  Doubtless  the  prophets  studied  Moses,  and  the  later 
prophets  studied  the  earlier  ones,  and  wrote  down  in  a  book 
their  good  thoughts,  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  though 
these  good  and  true  teachers  and  searchers  sometimes  fell  upon 
hay,  straw,  and  wood,  and  did  not  build  of  pure  silver,  gold,  and 
precious  stones  alone,  yet  the  foundation  remains."  f 

He  makes  the  distinction  between  the  message  and  the  mes- 
senger, saying  elsewhere  :  "  When  I  hear  Moses  enjoining  good 
works,  I  hear  him  as  I  do  one  who  executes  the  order  of  an 
Emperor  or  prince.     But  this  is  not  to  hear  God  himself."  J 

Nor  must  we  imagine  that  Luther  restricted  his  liberty  of 
choice  and  rejection  to  the  old  Testament.  One  of  the  most 
outspoken  of  mankind,  he  sometimes  lets  us  into  the  inner 
workings  of  hia  mind — a  curious  study.  He  advises  those  who 
find  difficulty  in  reconciling  other  portions  of  scripture  with  his 
favorite  texts  from  Galatians,  to  reply  to  an  adversary  after  this 
wise :  "  Thou  settest  against  me  the  servant,  that  is  to  say  the 
Scripture,  and  that  not  wholly  but  certain  passages  touching 
the  law  and  works.  But  I  come  with  the  Lord  himself  who  is 
above  the  Scripture.  ...  On  Him  I  hold ;  Him  I  stick 
to  and  leave  works  unto  thee.  .  .  .  Hold  fast  to  this  and 
lay  it  against  all  the  sentences   of  the   law   and   say :  '  Dost 

*  1  Corinthians  iii.  13. 

f  The  passage  occurs  in  the  Preface  to  Luther's  Gommentaries  on  th6 
four  books  of  Moses :  ("  Annotat.  iiber  die  funf  Bucher  Mosea") 

The  reader  will  find,  in  Breitschneider's  work  entitled  Luther  und 
seine  Zdt  (1817),  pp.  97-99,  the  freer  opinions  of  Luther  about  inapira* 
tion,  brought  together. 

\  See  Walch'a  collection  of  Luther's  works,  vol.  vii.  p.  2044. 


TO   JUDGE   SCRIPTURE.  95 

thou  hear  this,  Satan  ? '  Here  he  must  needs  give  place, 
for  he  knows  that  Christ  is  his  Lord  and  Master."  * 

We  find  a  remarkable  example  of  the  bold  manner  in  which 
Luther  acted  out  these  sentiments.  James,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  among  Christ's  apostles.  To 
him,  whom  he  had  trusted  on  earth,  Jesus  appeared  after  his 
death.f  Paul,  coming  to  Jerusalem  and  finding  Ihe  disciples 
afraid  of  him — as  not  believing  him  to  be  a  disciple — was 
brought  by  Barnabas  to  Peter  and  James,  and  by  them  accred- 
ited to  the  brethren.  J  Afterward  James  reached  the  highest 
oflfices  of  trust  in  the  gift  of  the  early  Christian  Church.  § 

But  this  distinguished  apostle,  author  of  the  epistle  which 
bears  his  name,  sets  forth  in  that  epistle  doctrine  diametrically 
opposed  to  Paul's  justification  by  faith  without  works.  He 
there  teaches  that  faith  alone  cannot  save,  seeing  that  the  dcA^ils 
also  believe  and  tremble;  finally  declaring,  "As  the  body 
without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead 
also."  II 

*  Commentcmea  on  the  OalaUans ;  on  chap.  iii.  verse  10,  last  para- 
graph. 

f  All  commentators  are  agreed  that  it  is  to  this  James  that  the  text 
1  Corinth,  xv.  7,  applies.  The  apparition  seems  to  have  been  first 
speciall J  to  him ;  afterward  to  all  the  apostles. 

X  Acts  ix.  27.  With  this  text  compare  Galatians  ii.  18,  19,  where 
Paul,  after  stating  that  he  saw  Peter  and  abode  with  him  fifteen  days, 
adds :  "  But  other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none,  save  James,  the  Lord's 
brother," 

§  A.D.  49,  he  was  President  of  the  ApostoHc  Council.  Later  he  was 
formally  appointed  by  the  Apostles  Bishop  of  Jerusalem.  For  his  ex- 
ceeding uprightness  he  was  sumamed  "The  Just." — See  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  the  BiUe,  vol.  i.  p.  934. 

I  James  ii.  26.  But  the  Apostle's  statement  of  this  doctrine  runs 
fchrcugb  the  last  half  of  the  chapter,  verses  14  to  26.  Abraham  and 
Rahab  are  spoken  of  as  having  been  justified  by  works :  and  James 
adds  :  "Ye  see  how  that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith 
only."— V.  24. 

I  do  not  allege  that  James  meant  to  say  thai;  a  man  can  earn  justifi- 
cation by  works ;  nor  do  I  believe  that  he  held  to  the  doctrine  of  juati* 


96  LUTHER  ON   ST.   JAMES. 

Now  how  does  Luther  deal  with  such  a  passage  as  this,  from 
HO  eminent  a  source  ?  Curtly  enough.  More  logical  or  more 
candid  than  some  of  his  commentators  who  have  sought  to 
reconcile  the  irreconcilable,  he  rejects  the  authority  ;  declaring 
that  James's  entire  contribution  to  the  New  Testament  is  but 
"  an  Epistle  of  straw."  *  Marvellous  example  of  the  effect 
wliichmaybe  produced  in  an  enthusiastic  mind,  when  it  dwells, 
with  the  partiality  of  love,  on  a  favorite  dogma !  f 

That  the  bold  Reformer  was  entitled  to  the  privilege  here 
assumed,  every  friend  of  religious  freedom  will  admit,  whatever 
he  may  think  of  good  Martin's  discretion  in  the  mode  of  exer- 
cising it.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  deny  to  Luther,  or  to  any 
honest,  earnest  seeker  after  truth,  the  right  to  judge  for  him- 
self, as  regards  the  Bible,  between  the  gold  and  silver  and  the 

fication  as  a  rewaxd  of  well-doing,  but  only  as  a  consequent  of  good 
deeds. 

*  "Epistola  straminea"  is  Luther's  expression:  it  occurs  in  his 
preface  to  the  New  Testament.  A  writer  in  the  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible  (vol,  i.  p,  926),  says  :  "  Luther  seems  to  have  withdrawn  the 
expression,  after  it  had  been  two  years  before  the  world."  I  find  no 
proof  whatever  of  this.  Carlstadt,  a  contemporary  of  Luther  and  the 
author  of  a  work  entitled  De  Canonids  ScriiptuHs^  reprehends  Luther 
for  his  opinion  about  James  (Hagenbach's  History  of  Doctrines^  vol. 
ii.  .\ote  to  page  241) ;  but  the  great  Reformer  was  not  a  man  to  shrink 
from  an  opinion  once  published,  because  an  opponent  attacked  it. 

f  The  Epistle  thus  summarily  dealt  with  is  fiUed  with  the  noblest 
passages,  and  holds  more  strictly  to  the  spirit  of  Christ's  teachings  than 
any  other  embraced  in  the  Canon.  Compare  James  i.  5  ;  i.  26 ;  ii.  8, 
9 ;  ii.  13 ;  iii.  17 ;  v.  1 ;  v.  12  ;  the  last  clause  of  v.  16,  and  other  texts 
from  this  Epistle,  with  the  words  of  Jesus.  This  apostle's  strict  ad- 
herence to  his  Master  s  doctrine  may  be  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  his 
Epistle  is  the  earliest  in  date ;  being  written,  as  is  usually  calciilated, 
about  twelve  years  only  after  Christ's  death. 

James  is,  more  preeminently  than  any  other  Apostle,  the  moral 
teacher  of  the  New  Testament.  Where  have  we  a  more  excellent 
definition  of  religion  than  he  has  given  us  ?  "  Pure  religion  and  unde- 
filed  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  the 
widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  one's  self  unspotted  from  the 
world." 


NOT   CHEISTIANITT   THAT   IS   AERESTED.  97 

hay  and  straw  which  it  may  contain.  Then,  too,  we  must  ad- 
mit the  great  importance  of  the  distinction  which  Luther  sets  up 
between  the  message  and  the  messenger.  We  hear  God  through 
His  works  or  his  interpreters  only ;  and  that,  as  Li  ther  re- 
minds us,  "is  not  to  hear  God  himself." 

This  only  I  assert,  that  it  was  not  the  grand  system  of  spiri  • 
tual  ethics  taught  by  Jesus  which  was  arrested  in  its  progress 
for  centuries,  which  failed  to  make  headway  against  human 
claimants  of  infallibility,  which  lost  more  than  half  the  ground 
it  had  gained,  which  cannot  hold  its  own  against  the  Eoman 
hierarchy  to-day — it  was  but  an  Augustinian  commentary  on 
some  of  the  scholasticisms  of  St.  Paul. 

I  find  abundant  proof  of  this  assertion  in  the  gospel  record, 
taken  as  a  whole.  In  its  general  aspect  what  do  we  find  to  be 
its  essential  features  ? 


§  10.  Spirit  and  Teachings  of  Christianity  compared  with 

THOSE  OF  CaLVINISTIC  AND  LuTHERAN  THEOLOGY. 

*'  Scripture,  as  a  witness,  disappeared  behind  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion, as  a  standard." — Tulloch.* 

Men  did  well,  after  countless  ages  marked  with  fitful  strug- 
gles only  toward  the  light,  to  turn  over  a  leaf  in  the  world's 
chronology,  and  begin  to  date  its  years  afresh,  from  the  time 
when,  at  last,  a  Teacher  spoke  to  its  heart  and  to  the  aifections 
there  crushed  and  to  the  spirit  of  God  there  dormant ;  instead 
of  addressing  its  fears,  its  superstitions,  and  its  evil  passions. 

Ignorance  or  cynicism  alone  denies  or  overlooks  the  moral 
and  spiritual  progress  of  mankind.  But  to  what  is  that  prog- 
ress due  ?  To  a  spirit  inherent  in  our  race  as  is  the  vital  prin- 
ciple in  the  bare-limbed,  snow-clad  forest-tree — a  spirit  thai 
hardly  manifested  existence  through  the  long,  barren  winter  of 
human  barljarism,  but  now,  stin-ed  to  energy  in  this  spring-time 

*  Leaders  of  the  Reformntian  (London,  1869),  p.  87. 
5 


98  WHAT   IS   THE   MASTEK-PEINCIPLE 

of  civilization,  puts  forth,  of  its  kind,  fresh,  green  leafage,  tfl 
gladden  the  world. 

How  is  this  spirit  named  ?  When  it  stills,  in  the  individual, 
or  the  nation,  the  fierce  impulses  of  combativeness,  and  bida 
discard  brutal  force  and  substitute  the  mild  appliances  of  reason, 
it  is  called  Peace.  When  it  softens  the  asperity  of  human 
codes,  and  tempers  indignation  against  the  wrong-doer,  we  name 
it  Mercy.  When  it  seeks,  in  a  neighbor's  conduct,  the  good 
and  not  the. evil ;  when  it  respects,  in  others,  independence  of 
thought  and  speech,  and  finds  in  honest  difi*erence  of  opinion 
no  cause  of  offence  ;  its  name  is  Charity.  When  it  attracts  us 
to  our  fellow-creatures,  of  every  tribe  and  tongue,  impelling  us 
to  take  them  by  the  hand  and  do  them  good,  we  call  it  Kind- 
ness. By  whatever  name,  under  all  its  phases,  a  gentle  spirit ; 
eminently  civilizing,  humanizing ;  the  herald  of  virtue,  the  dis- 
penser of  happiness. 

As  it  happens  that,  while  winter  still  lingeringly  maintains 
dominion  over  earth,  there  sometimes  intervenes  a  day  of  bright 
sunshine,  harbinger  of  others,  warmer  and  brighter  yet,  to 
come  ;  so  is  it  also  with  the  changing  seasons  of  the  spiritual 
world.  There  have  been  gleams  of  premature  brightness  shed 
over  an  age  still  too  wintry  for  their  maintenance;  there  floats, 
sometimes,  the  faint  fragrance  of  a  summer  yet  afar  off. 

Of  this  there  have  been  marked  examples,  far  back  in  human 
history.  In  these  we  dimly  recognize  the  divine  efflation.  But 
we  recognize  it  as  we  do  the  remote  star  in  the  night-heaven. 
Star  and  sun  shine  upon  us  alike  with  celestial  light ;  yet  there 
is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  enligTitener  of  the  earth,  and  another 
of  the  pale,  twinkling  star.  And  never,  in  all  the  history  of 
our  race,  has  the  gentle  spirit  of  which  I  have  spoken  been 
heralded  to  humankind  as  it  was,  more  than  eighteen  centuries 
since,  in  one  of  the  Asiatic  dependencies  of  the  Boman  Empire. 
A  voice  from  Galilee,  first  heard  by  fishermen,  its  earliest 
teachings  caught  up  by  publicans  and  sinners,  has  reached, 
albeit  through  the  din  of  controverrvialism,  +he  entii'e  civilized 
world. 


OF   CHEI3TIAN    MORALITY?  99 

A  sick)  from  parasitic  subtleties  of  doctrine  wliicli  have  com- 
ni<  inly  enkindled  zeal  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  their  practical  im- 
portance, what  is  the  master-principle,  pervading  the  entire 
code  of  Christian  spiritualism  and  Christian  morality, — giving 
it  life  and  character,  conspicuously  distinguishing  it  from  the 
Jewish  and  all  other  harsh  systems  of  an  austere  Past  ? 

It  is,  as  to  God,  the  regarding  Him  not  as  an  implacable 
Sovereign,  armed  with  the  terrors  of  the  Law,  whose  wrath  is 
a  consuming  fire ;  but  as  a  dear  Father — his  tender  merciea 
over  all  his  other  works — who  exacts  not  long  prayer  nor  for- 
mal sacrifice  ;  accepting,  as  most  fitting  service  to  Himself,  the 
aid  and  comfort  we  may  have  given  to  His  sufiering  creatures. 
And,  as  to  man,  it  is  the  substitution,  in  all  his  afi'airs,  whether 
international,  legislative,  Ktigant,  executive,  or  social,  of  the 
law  of  kindness  for  the  rule  of  violence.  It  is  the  replacement, 
throughout  God's  world,  of  war  by  peace,  of  severity  by  hu- 
manity :  for  contention  the  enthronement  of  meekness;  and  for 
hatred,  of  love. 

We  find,  indeed,  scintillations  from  such  a  spirit  dating  prior 
to  the  Christian  era :  in  the  Grecian  schools  of  philosophy,  es 
pecially  from  the  lips  of  Socrates  speaking  through  the  tran- 
scripts of  Plato ;  and  even  coming  to  us  from  an  earlier  school, 
in  the  moral  code  promulgated  by  the  great  sage  of  China,  the 
contemporary  of  Pythagoras  and  of  Solon.  Confucius,  twenty- 
four  centuries  since,  forbade  revenge  of  injuries,  commended 
clemency,  denounced  self-righteousness,  and  declared  that  the 
very  foundation  of  all  law  was  this,  that  we  should  do  as  we 
would  be  done  by.* 

But  what  was  subordinate  injunction  or  incidental  embellish- 
ment only  in  older  codes  is  of  the  Christian  system  the  soul 
and  essence.     Scarce  a  maxim  but  it  colors  ;  hardly  a  precept 

*  Tela  :  Life  and  Morals  of  ConfuciiLS,  reprinted  from  tlie  edition 
of  1691  (London,  1818) ;  pp.  80,  82,  89,  93.  But  Confucius  inculcated 
hatred  of  bad  men,  as  of  the  slanderer,  the  reviler,  the  man  -vN-ise  in 
his  own  conceit,  the  fool  who  censures  (p.  91).  Compare  with  this, 
Mattliew  V.  43,  44. 


100  PROFANAT/ONS  OF    THE   NAME 

to  wliich  it  does  not  give  tone.  It  is  not  one  of  many  minis 
tnint  spirits,  but  the  presiding  deity.  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of 
the  Law. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  say  that  such  a  system  was  out  of 
})lace  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  under  a  rule  of  legal  ven- 
geance and  a  code  of  retaliation.  Even  in  those  days,  as  long 
before,  the  still  small  voice  in  human  nature,  though  commonly 
drowned  by  the  clang  of  arms  and  the  noisy  conflict  of  rude 
passi(ms,  doubtless  bore  witness,  when  it  could  be  heard  above 
the  tumult,  in  favor  of  the  new  philosophy  ;  testifying  to  its 
justice,  sympathizing  with  its  kindly  spirit.  And  to  this 
steadfast  ally  within  the  citadel  is  to  be  ascribed  its  preserva- 
tion amid  the  hostile  elements  around. 

Yet  one  can  hardly  imagine  anything  more  at  variance  with 
the  temper  of  Christianity  than  the  everyday  thoughts  and 
doings  of  men,  not  only  at  the  period  whence  it  dates,  but  long 
thereafter.  And  it  is  a  thing  very  remarkable  that  the  name  was 
adopted  and  revered,  age  after  age,  while  scarcely  pretence  was 
maintained  of  obedience  to  the  gentle  precepts  that  character- 
ized it.  The  warrior-monk  of  Malta,  after  he  had  lost,  amid 
luxury  and  license,  every  virtue  except  valor,  called  himself  a 
Christian.  The  half-million  of  crusaders  who  six  centuries 
SLQce  assembled  at  the  call  of  Father  Dominic,  and  marched 
forth,  the  cross  emblazoned  on  their  breasts,  to  exterminate  the 
schismatic  Waldenses — laid  claim  to  the  title  of  Christian  pil- 
grims. Torquemada — he  who  during  one  brief  inquisitoriate 
burned  five  thousand  heretics,*  and  gave  up  ten  times  that  num- 
ber to  torture  or  other  punishment — caused  the  rack  to  be 
stretched  and  the  martyr-fire  to  be  kindled,  by  the  authority  of 
Christianity.  Like  the  disciples  demanding  fire  from  heaven  to 
consume  the  inhospitable  Samaritans,  these  men  knew  not  what 
maimer  of  spirit  animated  Him,  whom  they  vainly  professed  to 
follow  and  to  serve. 

*  Variously  estimated,  by  different  writers,  from  two  to  eight  fchou- 
Band.  I  have  assumed  the  mean,  which  I  judge  from  the  e-vidence  to  b« 
under  rather  than  over  the  truth. 


OF  CHfilSTLAJNITY.  101 

Through  these  earliest  and  worst  profanations  of  her  name, 
Christianity  is  at  length  emerging.  We  have  probatly  outlived 
the  era  of  religious  persecution  unto  death.  You  can  speak  oi 
Roman  Catholicism  and  I  of  Calvinism,  without  risk  that  either 
of  us  should  be  brought  to  the  stake. 

Under  favor  of  this  freedom,  I  may  ask  you  dispassionately 
to  reflect  how  far  the  theology  taught  by  the  Leaders  of  the 
Reformation  conforms  to,  or  diverges  from,  the  religion  ol 
Christ.  The  subject  should  be  approached — reverently,  prayer 
fully,  yes — but  fearlessly  also.     The  truth  maketh  free, 

I  admit,  in  advance,  that  a  doctrinal  system  which,  in  various 
phases,  has  pervaded  Christendom  for  fifteen  hundred  years, 
may  rightfully  demand  to  be  respectfully  dealt  with  by  the  his- 
torian, the  statesman,  the  philosopher.  We  may  rationally  as- 
sume, too,  that  in  a  certain  stage  of  mental  development,  such 
a  system,  like  war,  may  have  had  its  mission.  Yet  this  theory 
does  not  bar  the  hypothesis  that  its  days  are  numbered,  or  that 
its  mission  is  already  fulfilled.  To  everything  there  is  a  season. 
Like  the  dogma — as  ancient  as  itself,  and  still  nominally  ac- 
cepted by  two  hundred  millions  of  people — that  the  Holy 
Ghost  ever  guides,  exclusively  and  with  unerring  wisdom,  the 
one  only  true  and  Catholic  Church — the  doctrine  of  innate  and 
incurable  depravity,  supplemented  by  vicarious  atonement,  may 
be  destined  speedily  to  pass  away. 

If  it  shall  appear  that  such  a  doctrine,  though  taught  by  Paul, 
conflicts  with  the  sayings  of  Jesus,  then  we  shall  be  relieved 
from  the  despairing  conclusion  that  Christianity  is  losing 
gi'ound,  century  by  century.  If  it  shall  further  appear  that 
these  fsvorite  dogmas  tend  to  retard  the  progress  of  civilization 
and  to  lewder  the  standard  of  morality,*  then  we  need  not  ac- 

*  In  some  of  the  succeeding  pages,  I  shaU  speak,  at  large,  of  Plen- 
ary Inspiration.  Meanwhile,  if  the  doctrine  of  Luther  suflBce  not, 
in  the  eyes  of  my  clerical  readers,  to  justify  me  in  assuming  it  to  be 
possible  that  a  few  of  St.  Paul's  chapters  are  but  straw  instead  of 
gold,  let  them  be  remiaded  what  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  enlight- 
ened among  the  dignitaries  of  the  EngHsh  Church  has  left  on  record  ; 


102  COMPARISON  BETWEEN 

cept  Macaulay's  corollary  that  there  is  no  progressive  elemenl 
in  our  religion,  and  no  security,  in  the  future,  against  any  the 
ological  fallacy  of  the  past. 

In  a  brief  address  like  this,  it  is  impracticable  to  collate  the 
writings  of  Calvin  and  Luther  with  the  teachings  of  Christ 
Text  crowds  on  text ;  one  would  have  to  transcribe  half  the 
biography  of  the  Testament. 

And  how  unnecessary  would  be  such  a  collation,  if  we  oi 
this  generation  could  but  examine  that  Testament  iminfluenced 
by  preconceptions ! 

Let  us  imagine  Christendom  to  have  known,  until  the  pres- 
ent day,  no  Bible  save  Calvin's  Listitutes  and  Luther's  Gala- 
tian  Commentary.  Let  us  suppose  it  to  be  receiving  for  the 
first  time,  now  under  the  lights  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
utterances  of  him  whom  it  calls  "  Lord,  Lord," — to  be  reading 
the  just-found  words  of  Jesus, as  the  peasantry  of  Germany  and 
England  read  them  fresh  from  the  pens  of  Luther  and  of  Tyn- 
dale.  Ah!  small  need  would  there  be  then  of  comment  or 
studied  comparison!  The  theology  that  rejoices  in  its  ortho- 
doxy to-day  would  melt  away  in  a  single  year  before  the  glow 
of  the  teachings  by  the  sea  and  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Thus  emerging  to  view,  what  a  record  would  it  be  to  us ! — 
with  first  impressions  undulled  by  formal  iterations ;  with  con- 
victions still  to  be  formedj  not  perverted  from  earliest  child- 
hood into  antiquated  grooves ;  its  words  fresh  with  their  orig- 
inal meaning  ;  no  dogmatic  gloss  to  dim  its  simple  lessons ;  no 
obscuring  commentary  to  cloud  its  priceless  truths.  Some 
things,  no  doubt,  would  startle  us ;  others  might  cause  us  to 

"  I  express  myself  with  caution  lest  I  should  be  mistaken  to  vilify  rea- 
son ;  which  is,  indeed,  the  only  faculty  we  have  wherewith  to  judge 
concerning  anything,  even  revelation  itself  :  or  be  understood  to  assert 
that  a  supposed  revelation  cannot  be  proved  false  from  internal  charac 
ters.  For  it  may  contain  clear  immoralities  or  contradictions ;  and  eithei 
of  these  would  prove  it  false."-  Bishop  Butleb  :  Analogy  of  Bdigion^ 
part,  ii.  chap.  3,  p.  201.     (London  Ed.,  1809.) 


CALVINISM    AND  CHEI8TIANITY.  103 

call  in  question  the  accuracy  of  the  biographer's  recollections 
A  portion  of  Luther's  "  hay  and  straw,"  we  should  detect ;  bu< 
the  pure  gold  would  be  readily  recognized ;  the  grand  founda- 
tion would  remain.* 

"  Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand !  "  f  These 
would  be  the  first  words  of  exhortation  that  met  our  eye. 
Next  we  should  learn  that  the  "gospel  of  the  kingdom"  was 
preached.J  The  gospel !  That  word  would  come  to  us  in  its 
etymological  purity,  §  not  overlaid  by  suggestions  of  catechism 
and  faith-confessions.  It  would  inform  us  that  Jesus,  the 
Anointed,!  came  a  Messenger  of  Good  Tidings. 

Good  tidings  ? — to  us  who  had  been  hearing  such  as  these  ? 
"  Every  thing  in  man,  the  understanding  and  will,  the  body  and 

*  I  may  here  advert  to  what  I  have  touched  upon  elsewhere  in  thia 
volume  that,  in  a  general  way,  I  regard  the  three  synoptical  gospels — 
the  earUer  written — as  much  more  reUable  than  the  later  biography  of 
John ;  and  I  have  therefore  chiefly,  though  not  entirely,  trusted  to 
them  for  Christ's  teachings.  The  nearer  (in  time)  to  the  Master,  the 
more  we  find  of  the  gold  and  the  less  of  the  dross. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Justin  Martyr,  who  usually  refers  to  his  au- 
thorities specifically,  never  quotes  either  of  the  Evangelists  by  name ; 
but,  instead,  what  he  calls :  Memoirs  of  the  AposUes.  The  remarka- 
ble coincidences  not  only  in  incident,  but  often  almost  Literal,  between 
the  three  synoptical  gospels  seem  to  point  to  some  common  origin  for 
these  biographies;  and  it  has  been  su^ested  that  this  common  source 
may  have  been  a  Memoir  or  Biography,  drawn  up  from  the  recollec- 
tions of  Christ's  relatives,  his  Apostles,  and  other  prominent  disciples, 
soon  after  the  crucifixion.     This  seems  to  me  a  reasonable  hypothesis. 

f  Matthew  iv.  17 ;  Mark  1.  15. 

i  Matthew  iv.  23  ;  Mark  i.  14. 

§  It  would  be  superfluous,  but  that  it  is  so  often  overlooked,  to  recall 
to  the  reader's  memory  that  the  word  gospel  (god-spell)  derives  from  the 
two  Anglo-Saxon  words :  God,  good  ;  and  speU,  history  or  tidings. 

g  The  titles  "  The  Christ "  and  "  The  Messiah  "  hardly  recall  to  ua 
now  the  fact,  that  both  mean  simply  The  Anointed ;  the  former  in 
Greek,  the  latter  in  Hebrew. 

The  disciples,  soon  after  the  crucifixion,  ' '  lifting  up  their  voice  to 
God  with  one  accord,"  designated  their  Master  (Acts  iv.  27)  as  "Thy 
holy  child  Jesus,  whom  Thou  hast  anointed." 


104  TE8US   AND  CALVIN. 

soul,  is  polluted.  *  .  .  .  God  finds  nothing  in  men  thai 
can  incite  him  to  bless  them."  f 

What  good  tidings,  then  ?     These — 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn ;  for  they  shall  be 
comforted.  Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth.  Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  for  they  shall  be .  filled.  Blessed  are  the  merci- 
ful; for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.  Blessed  are  the  pure  ir 
heart ;  for  they  shall  see  God.  Blessed  are  the  peace-makers, 
for  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God."  J 

So,  again,  to  ears  accustomed  to  doctrine  like  this:  "All 
children  are  depraved  from  their  very  birth ;  .  .  .  their 
whole  nature  must  be  odious  and  abominable  to  God  "  § — how 
would  sound  the  good  tidings  brought  by  another  Teacher, 
guiding  us  from  darkness  to  the  "  light  of  life  "?  || 

"  Jesus  took  little  children  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them, 
saying ;  *  Of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven :'  and  to  his  dis- 
ciples he  added :  *  Except  ye  receive  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  a 
little  child,  ye  cannot  enter  therein.'  "  ^ 

Yet  again :  In  the  gospel  from  Geneva  we  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  read :  "  The  whole  world  does  not  belong  to  its  Crea- 
tor :  .  .  .  grace  delivers  from  the  curse  and  wrath  of  God 
a  few,  .  .  .  but  leaves  the  world  to  its  destruction.  **  .  .  . 
I  stop  not  to  notice  those  fanatics  who  pretend  that  grace  is 
offered  equally  to  all."  f  f 

But  how  would  our  hearts  warm  within  us  when  we  found, 
in  the  Gospel  from  Galilee,  invitation  to  all  those  who  labor 
and  are  heavy-laden  upon  earth  :  "  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
to  yo\i :  for  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he  that  seek- 

*  ^ee  preceding  page  75.  Tf  Luke  xviii  15-17. 

f  See  preceding  page  76.  **  See  the  words  of  Calvin  at  pro 

X  Mattiew  v.  3-10.  ceding  page  80. 

§  See  preceding  pages  76,  77.  f  f  See  preceding  page  77. 

\  John  viii.  12. 


LUTHER  A  NISM  AND  CEBISTIANITY.  105 

stli,  findefch ;  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened.  .  , 
If  ye,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  nnto  your  chil« 
dren,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  Heaven, 
give  good  gifts  to  them  that  ask  Him  ?  "  * 

Nor  should  we  find  the  teachings  that  had  come  from  Wit- 
tenberg to  agree,  any  better  than  Calvinism,  with  the  tidings 
from  Nazareth,  at  last  laid  open  before  us ;  seeing  that  Luther 
had  taught  us  in  this  wise :  "  To  say  that  faith  is  nothing  un- 
less charity  be  joined  withal,  is  a  devilish  and  blasphemous 
doctrine,  f  .  .  .  Every  doer  of  the  law  and  every  moral 
worker  is  accursed."  J 

But  in  the  new  gospel  we  should  find  Christ  saying  :  "  When 
thou  makest  a  feast,  call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the 
blind ;  and  thou  shalt  be  blessed :  they  cannot  recompense 
thee,  but  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just."  § 

We  should  probably  call  to  mind,  too,  that  from  Witten- 
berg we  had  heard  :  "  He  that  says  the  gospel  requires  works 
for  salvation,  I  say,  flat  and  plain,  is  a  liar."  j 

But  when  we  open  that  gospel  itself,  how  different  the  read- 
ing !  "  Whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  the  commandments,  the 
same  shall  be  called  great  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  ^ 

As  we  proceeded  in  the  beautiful  gospel-story,  new  sur- 
prises would  meet  us  at  every  step. 

That  sinner  of  the  olden  time,  was  she,  with  her  many  sins, 
forgiven  because  she  believed  much  ?  We  should  find  the 
record  to  read — "  because  she  loved  much."  ** 

And  that  other  sinner,  set  in  the  midst  for  condemnation, 
was  she  bade  to  go  and  believe  that  a  Holy  Vicar  bore  her 
sins  i  Yerily,  no.  We  should  learn  that  she  was  left  uncon- 
demned  and  bade  to  "  go  and  sin  no  more."  f  f 

That  prayer  of  prayers  (it  would  seem  to  us,  Geneva-taught) 

*  Matthew  vii  11.  \  See  preceding  page  5  L, 

f  See  preceding  page  85.  ^  Matthew  v.  19. 

X  See  preceding  page  86.  **  Luke  viiL  47. 

§  Luke  xiv.  13,  14.  ft  Jol"i  ^iii  la 
5* 


106  THE   PARABLES   OF    CHRIST   AND 

ought  not  to  have  read :  "  Forgive  us  our  sins  as  we  fot^vo 
them  that  sin  against  us  ;  "  *  but  thus  :  "  Reckon  it  to  us  for 
righteousness  that  our  sins  are  transferred  to  thy  Son  and  that 
we  are  elected  of  Thee." 

Then,  again,  when  amid  Christ's  good  tidings  we  heard  of  the 
great  "joy  in  Heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,"  the 
question  would  be  sure  to  arise :  "  Why,  when  a  sinner  re 
pents,  should  there  be  joy  at  all,  if  it  be  election,  and  not  re 
[>entance,  that  has  power  to  save  ?  " 

But  chiefly  would  the  wondrous  narrative-teachings  of  Jesus 
be  likely  to  arrest  our  attention ;  and  what  profound  subject 
for  thought  should  we  find  in  them  ! 

Suppose  that,  fresh  from  the  Reformer's  scheme  of  atone- 
ment, we  came  upon  that  noblest  of  parables,  the  story  of  the 
prodigal  son.  The  father  (we  should  read)  bade  bring  forth 
the  best  robe  and  put  it  on  him,  and  a  ring  on  his  hand  and 
shoes  on  his  feet.  Was  this  advancement  (typical  of  God's 
good- will  to  a  sinner)  due  to  the  son's  sudden  adoption  of  a 
dogma,  and  to  his  certain  belief  that  he  was  favored  of  his 
father  and  destined  to  happiness  ?  "A  thousand  times,  no  !  " 
(we  should  have  to  reply).  It  was  due  to  the  lost  one's  hu- 
mility and  repentance;  to  his  sorrow  for  the  past,  and  his 
resolution  to  lead  an  amended  life  of  usefulness,  even  in  a 
menial's  place.  "  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  Heaven  and 
before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son; 
make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants." 

Nf»3ct,  perhaps,  reaching  the  parable  of  the  man  travelling 
into  a  far  country,  we  might  be  reading  how  he  called  his 
servants  and  delivered  to  them  his  goods ;  how  one  servant 
improved  the  talents  he  had  received  and  to  him  it  was  said  : 
"  Enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord:  "  then  how  another  servant 
left  his  talent  unemployed,  and  was  sent  "  into  outer  darkness." 
Straightway  it  would  suggest  itself  to  us  that,  unless  we  had 

*  Tliere  are  two  slightly  variant  versions :  Matthew  vi.  12,  14; 
and  Luke  xi.  4. 


THE  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  REFORMERS.        107 

been  misled  by  blind  teachers,  this  parable  ought  to  have  stated 
that  the  one  servant,  who  sought  justification  through  the 
works  he  had  done,  was  told  that  no  man  can  be  justified  hy 
works,  and  so,  dismissed  to  "  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth  :  " 
while  the  other,  who  trusted  not  to  works,  should  have  been 
informed  that  if  he  confidently  believed  that  he  had  been 
elected  to  enter  on  the  joy  of  his  Lord,  it  should  be  unto  him 
according  to  his  belief.* 

At  last,  it  may  be,  urgent  to  have  our  doubts  resolved,  we 
might  turn  over  the  leaves,  seeking  some  definite  statement 
touching  the  fate  of  human  beings  after  death.  Matthew,  in 
his  twenty-fifth  chapter,  would  supply  our  need. 

For  there  we  should  find  Jesus  depicting  a  graphic  scene, 
typical  of  the  effect  which  man's  doings  in  this  world  produce 
on  his  state  in  the  next. 

When  the  King  says  to  those  on  his  right,  "  Come,  inherit 
the  Kingdom,"  he  assigns  the  reasons  for  his  choice.  "  I  was 
an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty  and  ye  gave 
me  drink ;  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in,  naked  and  ye 
clothed  me ;  sick  and  in  prison  and  ye  visited  me."  And 
when  they  who  were  thus  addressed  disclaimed  having  rendered 
him  service,  the  reply  is :  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  the 
least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  me."  Could  we 
construe  this  except  to  mean  that  we  best  serve  God  when  we  do 
good  to  the  lowliest  of  his  creatures  ;  and  that  if  we  spend  our 
lives  here  in  such  good  deeds,  then  when  Death  summons  us  to 
another  phase  of  life,  our  state  there  will  be  a  happy  one  ?     Yet, 

*  The  passages  that  would  be  sure  to  startle  our  supposed  Genevan 
catechumen  are  without  niunber,  and  will  occur  to  every  candid 
searcher  of  the  record.  The  parable  that  closes  the  Great  Sermon  is, 
perhaps,  one  of  the  most  striking.  "Whoso  heareth these  sayings  of 
mine  and  doeth  them,  shall  be  likened  to  a  wise  man  building  his  house 
on  a  rock.  But  every  one  that  heareth  my  sayings  and  doetJi  tJiem  not, 
is  like  a  foolish  man,  building  on  the  sand."  Not  the  hearing,  not  th« 
believing  aside  from  works — the  doing  is  the  rock-foimdation.  Every- 
thing else  is  a  structure  on  sand,  that  shall  be  swept  away. 


108  WHAT   LEADS   TO   PUNISHMENT   HEEEAFTEB. 

if  we  still  retained  our  Calvinistic  proclivities,  would  it  not 
seem  to  us  that  the  words  of  the  King  ought  to  have  been : 
"  Come,  inherit  the  Kingdom ;  for  I  have  elected  you  of  free 
grace  to  enter  it,  without  reference  to  your  works  on  earth, 
whether  they  have  been  good  or  whether  they  have  been  evil." 
But  who,  according  to  Christ,  were  to  go  into  **  everlasting 
fire,"  * — whatever  the  words  thus  rendered  may  mean— at  all 
events,  who  were  to  suffer  instead  of  enjoying  ?  They  who, 
wrapt  up  during  their  earth-life  in  selfishness,  failed  to  minis- 
ter to  their  fellow-creatures.  But  unless,  by  this  time,  we  had 
no  longer  the  fear  of  Calvin  before  our  eyes,  how  should  we 
receive  su<;h  a  declaration?  With  incredulity,  doubtless,  or 
with  a  feeling  that  the  sentence  of  the  condemned  should  have 
been  couched  in  some  such  terms  as  these :  "  Depart,  ye  cursed, 
to  dwell  for  ever  with  the  devil  and  his  angels,  for  so  from  the 
foundations  of  the  world  was  it  determined,  or  ever  ye  were 
born  or  had  done  good  or  ill.  That  my  purpose  according  to 
election  might  stand,  not  of  works  but  of  Him  that  calleth,  I 
select  as  seemeth  good  to  me :  I  take  one  and  leave  the  other. 
These,  on  my  right  hand,  have  I  loved ;  but  you  have  I 
hated."  t 

*  Christ's  more  usual  and  favorite  paraphrase  for  the  condition  of 
evil-doers  hereafter  is  "  outer  darkness,  where  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth"  (Matthew  viii.  12;  xxii.  13  ;  xxiv.  51  ;  xxv.  30; 
and  Luke  xiii.  38) ;  words  seeming  to  typify  an  utter  ecUpse  of  the  soul 
and  grievous  mental  sufferings.  In  the  body  of  this  volume  I  shall 
give  reasons  for  beUeving  that  these  words  of  Jesus  aptly  describe  the 
future  state  of  those  whose  lives  here  have  not  fitted  them  for  light 
and  happiness  in  a  higher  phase  of  being. 

I  recommend  those  who  have  the  habit  of  dogmatizing  on  the  sub- 
ject of  eternal  punishment  and  assuming  that  the  Hebrew  8heol  and  the 
Greek  Hades  have,  in  our  Authorized  Version,  been  correctly  translated, 
to  read  the  article  "  Hell"  in  Dr.  Smith's  "  Dictionary  of  the  Bible." 
They  will  find  that  the  writer,  after  giving  the  result  of  much  critical 
research,  says :  "  Respecting  the  condition  of  the  dead,  whether  before 
or  after  the  resurrection,  we  know  very  little  indeed.  .  .  .  Dogmatism 
on  this  topic  appears  to  be  peculiarly  misplaced. " 

\  See,  for  Calvin's  words  on  this  subject,  preceding  page  76. 


FASCINAnON    OF   GENEVESE    THEOLOGY.  109 

Do  you  tell  me  tliat  this  is  impious  ?  I  agree  with  you ;  it 
is  the  very  climax  of  impiety.  But  it  is  John  Calvin's  impiely, 
jiot  mine.  And  it  is  an  impiety  which  seems  secretly  to  have 
shocked  the  modern  world's  sense  of  right  and  wrong :  for  the 
last  three  centuries  have  given  their  verdict  against  it. 

Yet,  withal,  there  is  a  power  and  a  subtile  fascination  *  about 
the  Genevese  theology,  terrible  as  Gustavo  Dor6's  conceptions 
of  Dante's  "  Inferno."  When  I  turn  from  Calvinism  to  Chris- 
tianity, I  feel  as  one  awaking  from  some  frightful  nightmare — • 
some  dream  of  an  arid  desert  peopled  with  phantom-shapes  of 
demons  and  monsters — and  coming  face  to  face  with  the  calm 
loveliness  of  a  bright,  genial  spring-morning ;  the  song  of  birda 
in  my  ears,  the  odor  of  dew-fed  flowers  stealing  over  my  senses. 

It  is  for  you,  guides  of  the  Protestant  Church,  to  say  whether 
the  facts  adduced  sustain  the  proposition  which  I  have  already 
advanced  and  which  I  here  repeat :  It  was  not  the  grand  system 
of  ethics  taught  by  Jesus  which  was  arrested  in  its  progress  for 

*  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  it  had  strange  attraction  for  the  European 
mind  in  its  state  of  transition  during  the  sixteenth  century.  "About 
the  year  1540  a  little  book  was  pubhshed,  entitled  Of  the  Benefits  of 
Hie  Death  of  Christy  which,  as  a  decree  of  the  Inquisition  expressed  it, 
'  treated,  in  an  insinuating  manner,  of  justification,  depreciated  works 
and  meritorious  acts  and  ascribed  all  merit  to  faith  alone.'  It  had  in- 
credible success  and  rendered  the  doctrine  of  justification,  for  a  time, 
popular  in  Italy  ;  but  it  was  finally  so  rigidly  suppressed  by  the  Inqui- 
sition that  not  a  copy  is  now  known  to  exist." — Ranke  :  History  of  tliA 
Popes^  vol.  L 

A  significant  expression,  weU  worth  pondering  in  connection  with  the 
hold  which,  in  these  rude  days  of  pubhc  wrong  and  private  outrage, 
this  doctrine  obtauied  on  the  human  mind,  occurs  in  the  Augsburg  Con- 
fession. Speaking  of  justification  by  faith  without  works,  the  Gonfes- 
sionists  say  :  "  This  entire  doctrine  is  to  be  referred  to  the  conflict  of 
the  terrified  conscience ;  nor  without  that  conflict  c^n  it  be  under- 
stood."—xlrfiWe  20. 

A  doctrine  of  fear,  not  of  love,  "  What  if  God,  willing  to  show  hia 
wrath  and  to  make  his  pjwer  known,"  &c.,  is  Paul's  expression.—- 
Eomans  ix.  22. 


110  KEFORM    IN   PUBLIC   AND   PRIVATE 

centuries  ;  which  failed  to  make  headway  against  human  claim, 
ants  of  infallibility ;  which  lost  more  than  half  the  ground  it 
had  gained;  which  cannot  hold  its  own  against  the  Roman 
hierarchy  to-day  : — it  was  an  Augustinian  commentary  on  some 
of  the  scholasticisms  of  St.  Paul. 

You  will  judge,  also,  whether  I  have  made  good  this  other 
proposition  :  It  is  not  a  fair  inference  from  the  history  of  the 
Reformation  and  the  reverses  to  Protestantism  therein  recorded, 
that  Christianity  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a  progressive  science ; 
or  that  we  have  no  security  for  the  future  against  the  prevalence 
of  any  theological  error  that  has  ever  prevailed  in  time  pasi 
among  Christian  men. 


§  11.  Effect  on  Morality  of  certain  Favorite  Doctrines 
OF  THE  Reformers. 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  divergence  of  some  early  Protestant 
doctrines  from  Christ's  teachings,  extreme  as  it  is,  that  arrests 
one's  attention.  It  is  also  the  effect  on  civilization  and  human 
progress  of  the  doctrines  themselves.  I  intreat  your  attention 
to  this  branch  of  the  subject,  urgent  in  its  importance. 

— Urgent,  for  many  reasons.  It  is  far  short  of  the  truth  to 
say  that  the  material  progress  of  the  world  in  the  last  hundred 
years  has  exceeded  that  obtained  in  any  ten  previous  centuries. 
Yet  I  am  sure  it  must  have  occurred  to  you  that  the  advance 
in  morality  has  not  kept  pace  with  that  in  all  physical  arts 
and  sciences.  Especially  in  this  new  country  of  ours,  liable  as 
it  is  to  the  excesses  and  the  shortcomings  of  youth,  improve- 
ment in  human  actions  and  affections,  as  compared  with  im- 
provement in  mechanical  agencies,  lags  lamentably  behind. 
Intemperance,  partially  checked  from  time  to  time,  is  yet  a  ter- 
rible power  in  the  land.*     Vast  wealth  and  stintless  luxury — - 

*  Special  Internal  Revenue  Commissioner  Wells,  whose  labors  in 
connection  with  financial  reform  have  made  his  name  favorably  known 
all  o\er  the  country,  states,  in  his  Report  to  Congress  for  the  year  1867, 


MORALITY  URGENTLY  NEEDED.  Ill 

heralds  of  ruin  that  go  before  the  decline  and  fall  of  nations-— 
are  so  swiftly  and  so  widely  extending  their  baneful  influence 
over  our  people,  that  Christ's  warning  comes  to  us  with  ten- 
fold force  :  "  How  hardly  shall  they  who  have  riches  entei  iuto 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  !  "  Public  morality  is  at  a  lower  ebb 
than  it  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago :  our  legislative  bodies 
are  less  pure,  our  public  service  generally  more  stained  with 
venality.  Nay,  the  veiy  source  whence  our  political  system 
springs — the  election  precinct  itself — has  become  subject  to  in- 
vasions of  corruption  that  have  waxed,  year  by  year,  more  fre- 
quent and  more  shameless.  But  public  immorality  reacts  on 
private  morals.  The  vice-diseases  which  originate  in  politics, 
if  they  assume  a  malignant  type,  cannot,  by  any  sanitary 
cordon,  be  confined  to  politics ;  they  ai-e  sure  to  infect,  first 
our  business  marts,  then  the  home-circle  itself.*  Never  has 
there  been  a  time  when  a  great  reformatory  agency  was  more 
pressingly  needed  among  us  than  now. 

I  do  not  say  this  discouragingly ;  for  I  feel  no  discourage- 
that,  during  that  year,  the  sales  of  persons  retailing  spirituous  and  malt 
liquors  reached  the  sum  of  $483,491,865.  This,  however,  included 
all  their  sales  which,  in  many  instances,  extended  to  other  articles,  such 
as  sugar,  flour,  tobacco.  As  the  tax  was  much  larger  than  that  im- 
posed on  ordinary  dealers,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  one  would  return 
himself  as  a  retailer  of  liquors  unless  he  sold  sufficient  of  the  article  to 
warrant  payment  of  the  increased  tax.  Mr.  Wells  (in  a  letter  to  me  of 
February  10,  1871)  says  :  "I  think  you  would  be  safe  in  saying  that 
a  third  part  of  the  sales  returned  was  for  Hquors." 

This  would  give  upward  of  a  hundred  and  skcty  mMlions  of  dollars, 
as  the  sum  annually  paid  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  over  the 
counter  to  retailers,  for  glasses  of  liquor  alone :  averaging,  probably, 
seventy  or  eighty  glasses  a  year  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  our 
country. 

How  past  human  calculation  the  amount  of  vice  and  misery  which  so 
enormous  a  sum,  thus  expended,  represents  ! — as  Httle  capable  of  esti- 
mate the  amount  of  good  it  might  represent,  if  spent  for  the  education 
of  youth  and  the  instruction  of  the  people. 

*  I  witnessed  a  memorable  example  of  this  during  a  five  years'  resi« 
deuce,  under  the  old  regime,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 


112  EVERY   HUMAN   ACTION   ENTAILS 

ment.  The  great  stream  of  human  progress  flows  ever  onward, 
even  if  we,  for  the  time",  are  found  in  one  of  its  side-eddies. 
He,  without  whom  no  sparrow  falls,  if  He  fosters  the  less  will 
care  also  for  the  greater.  In  His  own  good  time  the  needs  of 
the  soul  will  surely  be  supplied  as  bountifully  as  the  wants  of 
the  body. 

But  if  we  take  note  of  God's  economy,  we  shall  observe  that 
he  effects  these  objects  in  our  world,  not  by  miracle  or  direct 
interposition,  but  mediately,  through  meliorating  agencies^ 
under  general  law.  And,  as  He  usually  acts  upon  us  here 
through  human  agencies,  men,  though  they  cannot  arrest  God'a 
law  or  change  its  influence,  have  a  certain  power  to  quicken  or 
retard  its  operation.  They  quicken  that  influence  when  they 
call  the  attention  of  their  fellows  to  its  inevitable  action  and 
to  its  power  for  good.  They  retard  its  action  when  they  weaken 
the  faith  of  mankind  in  its  existence,  or  assert  that  God  arbi- 
trarily suspends  it.  And  this  last  is  what  zealous  men — in  a 
matter  most  gravely  affecting  morals, — have  assumed  to  do  for 
centuries,  and  continue  to  do  at  this  very  day. 

If  there  be  one  universal  law,  patent  wherever  man  is  found, 
it  is  that  every  act,  good  or  bad,  entails  its  appropriate  result, 
be  it  beneficial  or  injurious  to  the  actor.  So  far  as  we  know 
anything  of  God,  by  observation  of  His  works.  He  does  not 
permit  this  law,  or  any  other  natural  law,  to  change  or  to  be 
suspended.* 

Men,  conscious  of  evil-doing,  have,  in  all  ages,  striven  to 
evade  the  operation  of  this  great  law;  seeking  out  many  in- 
ventions whereby,  in  the  matter  of  sin,  the  consequence  might 
be  detached  from  the  cause.  But  this  cannot  be  done,  any  more 
than  the  sun  can  shine  and  no  light  follow,  or  a  field  be  sown 
in  tares  and  wheat  spring  up  as  the  result. 

A  sin  can  be  repented  of.  A  sinful  life  can  be  amended.  A 
man,  sorrowing  over  the  evil  he  has  done,  may  learn  to  do  well. 

*  I  shall  speak  at  large  of  tlie  universal  reign  of  law  and  the  mistakes 
men  have  made  when  they  imagined  its  suspension,  in  another  part  oi 
this  book. 


ITS   APPBOPEIATE   RESULT.  113 

A.  sinner  may  be  cured  of  sin,  as  one  who  is  sick  may  be  cured 
of  a  disease.  Thus,  and  thus  alone,  can  the  consequences  of 
sin  be  averted.  When  the  cause  ceases,  then  only  ceases  the 
effect.* 

Any  attempt  to  persuade  men  that  the  effect  of  sin  can  cease 
while  the  sin  remains  is  of  exceedingly  immoral  tendency — of 
tendency  much  more  immoral  than  would  be  the  striking,  from 
a  statute  against  murder,  of  its  penal  clause.  For  it  would  be 
as  if  we  deceived  a  man  under  temptation  to  kill,  by  telling  him 
that  the  law  against  murder  contained  no  penalty  or  that  its 
penalty  could  be  annulled,  while  in  fact  the  penalty  in  force  was 
death.  Does  it  mend  matters  that  we  add :  "  What,  then  ? 
Shall  we  continue  to  murder  because  there  is  no  penalty  ?  God 
forbid ! "  God  Jias  forbidden,  and  under  a  penalty.  If  you 
blind  men's  eyes  to  the  penalty,  little  avails  it  that  you  repeat 
to  them,  "  God  forbid  !  " 

Happily  for  the  world,  there  are  men  (though  Calvin  denies 
this),  in  whom  the  hunger  after  the  Eight  f  is  so  strong  that 
they  need  no  other  incentive  to  virtue.  Yet,  in  the  masses  at 
the  present  day,  the  hope  or  the  fear  of  consequences  chiefly  de- 
cides action.  Thus  legislators  do  not  consider  it  safe  to  trust 
the  control  of  mankind  to  moral  precepts  without  penal  law. 

Upon  the  same  principle  the  world  is  agreed  that  it  will  not 
do  to  leave  out  of  view  a  future  state  of  reward  and  punish- 
ment. \     Of  all  demoralizing  doctrines  I  know  of  none  more 

*  "Cessante  causa  cessat  eff actus"  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  legal 
maxims. 

t  Matthew  v.  6. 

X  I  by  no  means  assert,  however,  that  the  fear  of  Hell  and  the  hoi)e 
of  Heaven  are  the  foundation- motives  on  which  Christ's  system  of  ethics 
rests,  or  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  the  noblest  morality.  See,  as  to  that 
subject,  the  concluding  chapter  of  this  work.  It  is  indispensable  to 
distinguish  between  what  may  be  put  forward  as  chief  motive  at  this 
age  of  the  world  and  what  may  be  man's  basic  motive  in  a  more  ad- 
vanced stage  of  civilization.  Nor  will  the  time  ever  come  when  it  wiU 
cease  to  be  important  that  we  should  clearly  know,  and  deeply  ponder, 
the  natural  consequences  of  our  acts. 


114   WELL-DOING  HEEE  LEADS   TO   WELL-BEING  HEEEAFTEK. 

thorouglily  vicious  in  tendency  than  this,  that  character  and 
conduct  in  this  world  do  not  determine  our  state  of  being  in 
the  next. 

And.  on  the  other  hand,  I  know  of  no  more  powerful  incen- 
tive to  morality,  at  this  stage  of  human  progress,  than  a  pro- 
found conviction  that,  by  an  inevitable  law,  our  well-doing  in 
this  stage  of  existence  decides  our  well-being  in  that  which  is  to 
come. 

That  sagacious  and  kindly  man,  Bishop  Butler,  following  the 
lights  of  analogy,  and  from  the  seen  deducing  the  unseen,  haa 
some  wise  words  in  this  connection.  While  he  abstains  from 
anything  beyond  supposition  as  to  how  and  in  what  manner,  in 
the  next  world,  sin  will  entail  suifering,  he  suggests  "  that  fu- 
ture punishment  may  follow  wickedness  in  the  way  of  natural 
consequence,  or  according  to  some  general  laws  of  government 
already  established  in  the  universe."  * 

I  shall  give  my  reasons,  farther  on,  for  believing  that  Butler 
here  touches  a  great  truth  ;  that  God's  laws  for  the  soul  are  not 
restricted   to   earth-life ;   and   that  His  creatures,  still  undei 

*  Butler:  Analogy  of  Bdigion,  part  ii.  chap.  5,  §  2  (p.  232  of 
London  Ed.,  1809).  A  page  or  two  previously  occur  these  sentences: 
"  The  divme  moral  government  which  rehgion  teaches  us  implies  that 
the  consequence  of  vice  shall  be  misery,  in  some  future  state,  by  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God.  .  .  .  There  is  no  absurdity  in  suppos- 
ing future  punishments  may  follow  wickedness  of  course,  as  we  speak ; 
or  in  the  way  of  natural  consequence  from  God's  original  constitution 
of  the  world ;  from  the  nature  which  He  has  given  us  and  from  the  con- 
dition in  which  He  places  us;  or  in  a  like  manner  as  a  person  rashly 
trifling  upon  a  precipice,  in  the  way  of  natural  consequence,  falls 
down ;  in  the  way  of  natural  consequence  breaks  his  limbs,  suppose  ; 
in  the  way  of  natural  consequence  of  this,  without  help,  perishes. 
Some  good  men  may  perhaps  be  offended  with  hearing  it  spoken  of  as 
a  supposable  thing  that  the  future  punishments  of  wickedness  may  be 
in  the  waj"-  of  natural  consequence :  as  if  this  were  taking  the  execution 
of  justice  out. of  the  hands  of  God.  But  they  should  remember  that 
when  things  come  to  pass  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  this  doea 
not  hinder  thera  from  being  His  doing,  who  is  the  God  of  nature."—  / 
pp.  230,  231. 


THE  SCAPE-GOAT.  115 

these  laws  after  the  death-change,  will  find  them  in  the  Great 
Beyond  as  on  this  little  planet,  unchanged  and  unchangeable. 

Does  not  such  a  conception  (involving  no  earning  of  heaven, 
no  arbitrary  consignment  to  hell)  commend  itself  to  our  bectei 
nature  as  in  accordance  with  the  attributes  of  "  the  Father  of 
lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turn- 
ing?"* 

And  what  have  we  had  in  Hebradom  and  in  Christendom 
for  tens  of  centuries  to  replace  it  ? 

In  the  childhood  of  the  world — at  all  events  when  it  waa 
three  thousand  years  younger  than  it  is  to-day — a  strange  rite 
was  instituted,  at  the  alleged  command  of  God,  among  the 
Hebrews.  Sins  were  treated  as  if  they  were  tangible  and  mov- 
able objects  that  could  be  detached  from  the  sinner  by  a  High 
jPriest,  and  sent  away,  as  worn-out  garments  or  cumbrous  rub- 
bish might  be,  on  a  beast  of  burden,  f  This  typical  action 
might  have  been  well  enough,  in  that  age  of  ceremonies,  if  there 
had  been  any  true  principle  underlying  it.  But  it  was  founded 
on  an  error  of  the  gravest  character.  We  cannot  scape  sins  by 
a  shifting  of  them  from  ourselves  to  another  living  being,  any 
more  than  we  can  evade  the  fever  that  consumes  us,  or  the 
plague  that  threatens  life,  by  transfer  of  either  to  friend  or 
foe.  God's  immutable  law  is  against  it.  He  has  made  it  im- 
possible to  detach  effect  from  cause. 

Paul,  "  an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews  and  as  touching  the  law 
a  Pharisee,"  J  continued,  after  he  became  a  Christian,  to  cherish 
the  ancient  Jewish  idea  that  sin  is  gotten  rid  of  by  sacrifice, 

*  James  i.  17. 

f  "  The  scape-goat  shall  be  presented  alive  before  the  Lord,  to  make 
duQ.  atonement  with  HinL  .  .  .  Aaron  shall  lay  his  hands  upon  the  head 
of  the  five  goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  in  all  their  sins,  putting  them 
upon  the  head  of  the  goat,  and  shall  send  him  away  by  the  hand  of  a 
fit  man  into  the  vdldemess  :  and  the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him  all  theil 
iniquities  unto  a  land  not  inhabited." — Leviticus  xvi,  10,  21, 

X  PhUippians  iii  5. 


116        PAEDON,    OR   NO   PAilDON,    FOB   THE   PENITENT '{ 

ftnd  that  only  thus  man  can  atone  (that  is,  reconcile  himself,^) 
with  an  offended  God.  He  seems  to  have  forgotten,  if  he  had 
ever  read  or  heard,  what  Christ  said  to  the  Pharisees:  "  Go  yfe 
and  learn  what  that  meaneth,  *  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sac- 
rifice.'" f 

— Mercy,  not  sacrifice.  Mercy  for  repentance,  showing  itseli 
in  an  amended  life ;  mercy  for  every  human  creature  who  for- 
sakes evil  courses  and  learns  to  do  well ;  rest  to  the  heavy- 
laden  ;  comfort  to  the  mourner,  burdened  with  the  memory  of 
past  misdeeds.  Such — so  charitable,  hopeful,  loving — is  the 
plan  of  reformation  and  salvation  put  forth  by  the  Great  Mas- 
ter, gently  seeking  out  those  who  are  soul-sick  :  such  the  Gospel, 
coming  to  us  with  healing  under  its  wings,  from  the  shores  of 
the  Galilean  sea.  Its  tidings  are  eminently  promotive  of  mor- 
ality, encouraging,  humanizing,  civilizing :  for  it  presents  to 
erring  man  the  strongest  of  all  inducements  to  resist  tempta- 
tion and  to  follow  wisdom's  pleasant  and  peaceful  paths. 

How  different  the  influence  on  the  world's  morality  of  the 
scheme  of  redemption  imagined  by  Paul  and  intensified  by  the 
Leaders  of  the  Reformation!  Calvin  and  Luther  exhorted, 
indeed,  to  virtuous  actions,  inculcated  the  exercise  of  Christian 
gracf^s ;  yet,  in  the  same  breath,  they  took  pains  to  instil  the 
idea  that  deeds  of  virtue,  even  the  highest,  and  Christian  graces 
the  most  eminent,  are  no  atonement  for  past  sins,  cannot  ap- 
pease God's  wrath  or  awaken  God's  mercy;  and  that  such  good 
deeds  and  graces  do  not  influence,  by  one  hairbreadth,  man's 
chance  of  happiness  or  of  misery  in  the  world  to  come.  No 
word  of  pardon  or  comfort  for  the  penitent  mourner  ;  no  hope 
of  heaven  to  be  reached  through  purification  of  life.  They  took 
special  pains  to  deny  that  our  well-doing  here  worked  for  u3 
well-being  hereafter.  For.  well-doing  they  substituted  what 
they  thought  to  be  well-believing.     They  set  up  faith  in  a  sin- 

*  Atonement;  at-one-ment ;  a  pacifying  or  appeasing 'of  a  person 
offended,  so  as  to  make  him  at  one  with  the  offender. — Bislwp  Bjever- 

tDGE. 

\  Matthew  ix.  13. 


BELIEr    NEITHER   A   CRIME   NOR   A   VIRTUE.  117 

glo  mysterious  dcgma  as  the  one  shining,  redeeming,  immaculate 
merit  of  mankind. 

Yet  faith  in  any  tenet  is  not  a  merit  at  all.  Love  for 
truth  is  a  merit ;  eagerness  to  learn  is  a  merit ;  painstaking 
research  is  a  merit;  but  (these  duties  being  religiously  ful- 
filled)  the  result  of  such  research — belief  in  any  dogma,  true 
or  false — has  not,  attached  to  it,  one  whit  more  of  merit 
or  demerit  than  have  far-seeing  eyes  or  dull  ears.  Belief 
in  truth  is  a  ble^ing,  sometimes  a  priceless  blessing ;  misbe- 
11 3f  is  a  misfortune,  often  of  grievous  character:  for  just 
practice  is  based  upon  just  opinions.  But  belief  in  the  highest 
truth  is  not  a  virtue ;  honest  misbelief  in  the  worst  error  is  not 
a  crime.  *  Nor,  in  admitting  this,  have  we  reached  the  full 
measure  of  the  folly  which  sometimes  springs  from  zeal  withoi 
knowledge.  The  result  of  sincere  inquiry — belief  in  this  or 
iu  uhat  doctrine — is  not,  in  any  sense,  under  human  control. 
Man,  at  the  bidding  of  his  fellow,  can  no  more  add  an  article 
to  his  creed  than  a  cubit  to  his  stature. 

Tell  me,  if  you  can,  how  I  should  set  about  believing  that 
God,  who  never  disconnects  good  and  evil  actions  from  their 
consequences  in  this  world,  has  seen  fit  to  disconnect  them  in 
the  next.  Tell  me,  if  you  can,  how  I  am  farther  to  obtain  be- 
lief that  God,  passing  by  human  deeds  which  men  cam,  control, 
selects  as  worthy  of  eternal  happiness,  a  certain  phase  of  faith 
in  the  unseen,  which  the  creature  from  whom  it  is  exacted  can 
no  more  have,  or  not  have,  by  any  conceivable  efibrt  of  his, 
than  he  can  arrest  the  rising  of  the  sun,  or  hasten  the  coming 
on  of  night.  Explain  to  me,  if  you  know  how,  by  what  pro- 
cess of  volition  I  am  to  prroduce  in  my  own  mind  such  a  belief. 
Keason  and  conscience  within  me  alike  reject  it.  Shall  I  do 
violence  to  them  ?     He  is  false  to  God  who  is  false  to  the  sense 

*  William  of  Orange,  writing  in  1578  to  the  Calvinist  authorities  of 
Middleburg  in  behalf  of  the  Anabaptists,  struck  the  true  note :   "You 
have  no  right  to  trouble  yourselves  with  any  man's  conscience,  so  long 
as  nothing  is  done  to  cause  private  harm  or  public  scandal. " — Brandt 
Sisiorie  der  Beformation,  vol  i  pp.  609,  610. 


118  PEEFERRING    CHKIST   TO   PATJI. 

he  has  received  from  God,  enabling  him  to  distinguish  the 
Right  from  the  Wrong. 

I  know  of  nothing  you  can  say  in  reply,  except  what  wag 
said  of  old :  "  Nay  but,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest 
against  God  ?  "  I  answer  that  it  is  not  against  God,  nor  yet 
against  Christ,  that  I  am  replying.  I  am  replying  against  Cal- 
vin and  Luther's  conceptions  of  God,  as  I  and  all  men  have  a 
right  to  do.  I  am  replying  against  him  whom,  as  guide  in  thia 
matter,  the  Reformers  preferred  to  Christ — against  Paul :  and 
that  not  wholly,  by  any  means  ;  but  only  against  him  in  some  of 
his  doctrinal  moods.*  I  am  not  more  thoroughly  convinced 
that  Paul  was  inspired  when  he  penned  that  wonderful  thir- 
teenth chapter  of  his  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  than  I  am 
that  inspiration  was  supplanted  by  vain  philosophy  in  other 
portions  of  his  writings.  I  think  he  sometimes  felt  this  him- 
self. He  seems  to  have  induced,  and  to  have  shared  Luther's 
opinion  about  the  stubble  that  is  sometimes  mixed  with  the 
gold.f 

It  avails  nothing  to  bid  me  believe  unworthily  of  God,  be- 
cause Paul,  now  and  then,  sets  me  the  example ;  or  to  arraign 
me  for  presumption  because,  according  to  best  light,  J  I  decide 
for  myself  what  is  worthy  and  what  is  not.  In  this  twilight 
world  of  ours  where  all  are  fallible,  we  ought  not  to  place  the 

*  At  other  times  his  teachings  on  this  very  subject  harmonize  with 
those  of  Christ.  "  God  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
deeds :  to  them  who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for 
glory  and  honor  and  immortality,  eternal  life ;  but  unto  them  that  are 
contentious  and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  .  .  .  tribulation  and  anguish." 
— Romans  ii.  6-9. 

f  "  Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ.  Now  if  any  man  build  upon  this  foundation  gold,  silver,  pre- 
cious stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble ;  every  man's  work  shall  be  made  mani- 
fest: for  the  day  shall  declare  it." — 1  Corinthians  iii.  11-13.  I  have 
already  alluded  to  this  text,  preceding  page  94. 

X  "  The  spirit  of  man  is  the  lamp  of  God,  wherewith  he  searcheth 
the  inwardness  of  all  secrets." — Proverbs  xx.  27.  But  the  translation 
la  Bacon's  :  Advancement  of  Learning.  Book  I. 


EVIL   IN   MAN   CANNOT   BE   GOOD   IN   GOD.  119 

candle  that  gives  light  to  the  house  under  a  bushel,  merely  be- 
cause its  rays  reach  not  as  far  as  those  of  the  sun.  I  claim  for 
head  and  heart,  such  as  they  are,  the  right  to  judge.  And,  in 
my  own  case  as  to  this  matter,  theii' judgment  accords  with  the 
tender-and-true  poet  of  America,  when  he  says : 

"  I  may  not  look  where  cherubim 
And  seraphs  cannot  see  ; 
But  nothing  can  be  good  in  Him 
Which  evil  is  in  me. 

"  The  wrong  which  pains  my  soul  below 
I  dare  not  throne  above  : 
I  know  not  of  His  hate — I  know 
His  goodness  and  His  love."  * 

There  is  one  other  doctrine,  universally  accepted  by  the  early 
Protestants,  to  the  effect  of  which  on  human  progress  I  invite 
your  attention. 

The  ideas  of  these  stern  theologians  touching  the  inborn  cor- 
raption  of  our  race  were  carried,  as  we  have  seen,  f  to  a  fear- 
ful extent.  They  regarded  man  as  a  being  so  desperately  wicked, 
of  nature  so  utterly  debased  and  degi-aded,  that  his  best-show- 

*  Whittier  :  TJw  Tent  on  the  Beach;  Boston,  1868,  p.  140. 

f  Preceding  pages  75  to  77.  Other  passages  might  have  been  added, 
showing  how  deeply  rooted  this  tenet  was.  The  third  of  the  celebrated 
mnety-five  theses,  nailed  in  1518  by  Luther  on  the  gate  of  the  Witten- 
berg church,  reads  thus  :  3.  "  Works  of  men,  let  them  be  as  fair  and 
nrood  as  they  may,  are  yet  evidently  nothing  but  mortal  sin."  Later  he 
wrote  :  "  Original  sin  Hves  and  does  all  other  sins  and  is  the  essential 
«in  :  one  which  does  not  only  sin  an  hour  or  any  given  time  ;  but  wher- 
ever and  as  long  as  the  person  Uves,  there,  too,  is  sin." — Lutheb: 
Werke,  vol.  xi.  p.  396. 

The  warm-hearted  Melancthon,  eyen,  who  used  to  call  his  nursery 
' '  God's  Uttle  church  "  (ecclesiola  Dei),  gave  in  his  adhesion  :  ' '  The  soul, 
lacking  celestial  light  and  life,  .  .  .  seeks  nothing,  desires  nothing,  save 
carnal  things." — Melancthon  :  Loci  Communes  (Ed.  August. ),  p.  18. 

Zwingli,  somewhat  more  lenient,  spoke  of  original  sin  as  a  disease. 
"  Originale  i»eccatum  non  est  peccatum  sed  morbun>  "  -55wi?jglius  : 
De  peecato  oiiginali.  Opera,  vol,  iii.  p.  628. 


120  TO  TELL   MAN   HE   IS   IKBECLAIMABLE 

ing  actions  are  but  veiled  varieties  of  original  sin,  and  his 
noblest  thoughts  mere  offshoots  of  innate  depravity.  Nor  did 
they  restrict  this  anathema  to  the  unbeliever :  they  held  that 
all  actions  whatever — even  those  performed  by  the  most  relig- 
ious— must  be  included.  "  There  never  was  an  action  performed 
hy  a  pious  rrhan'''^  (Calvin  says),  which,  in  the  eye  of  God,  did 
not  "  deserve  condemnation."  * 

Another  phase  of  the  doctrine  reaches  far  in  its  influence : 
for  it  teaches  not  only  that  all  men  and  women,  from  earliest 
infancy  up,  are,  in  their  whole  nature,  "  odious  and  abominable 
to  Grod,"  f  but  that  they  are  irreclaimable  also.  "  Man  cannot " 
(says  the  Genevan  Reformer)  "be  excited  or  biassed  to  any- 
thing but  what  is  evil."  J 

Calvin  might  well  have  confessed  of  this  tenet,  as  he  did  of 
predestination,  that  it  was  a  "  horrible  decree."  For  it  is  a 
virtual  announcement  that  there  is,  in  human  nature,  no  element 
of  moral  progress.  It  is  the  drawing  of  a  pall  across  the  future 
of  our  race  in  this  lower  world.  It  is  a  declaration  to  the  re- 
former and  to  the  philanthropist  that  their  hopes  for  human- 
kind are  baseless,  and  their  best  efforts  profitless  and  vain. 

But  nothing  so  takes  from  man  his  manhood  as  the  persua- 
sion that  he  cannot  do  what  he  ought.  It  discourages,  demor- 
alizes. Even  in  worldly  enterprises  of  mere  material  character, 
it  works  disappointment  and  defeat.  Would  young  Napoleon's 
Italian  army  have  effected  the  wonders  it  did,  if  he  had  preached 

*  See  preceding  page  79. 

f  Preceding  page  77. 

X  Preceding  page  76.  At  first  sight  this  seems  irreconcilable  with  an- 
other sentiment  of  Calvin  {Inst.j  b.  1,  c.  1),  reading  thus :  "  There  is 
no  other  faith  that  justijaes  save  that  which  is  connected  with  charity ; 
but  it  is  not  from  charity  that  it  derives  its  power  to  justify."  The  ex- 
planation undoubtedly  is,  that  (according  to  Calvin)  even  the  charitable 
deeds  of  pious  men  spring  from  corrupt  motive,  and  therefore  deserve 
condemnation. 

But  Luther  (preceding  page  83)  declares  that  to  say  "  faith  is  nothing 
except  charity  be  joined  withal,"  is  a  "  deviUsh  and  blasphemous  kind 
of  doctrine." 


TAKES   FEOM    HIM   HIS   MANHOOD.  121 

to  his  sol(Hers  their  cowardice  and  impotence,  instead  of  in- 
spii'ing  them  with  wholesome  confidence  in  themselves  ? 

And,  in  other  far  nobler  fields,  consider  its  evil  sway.  When 
Oberlin  commenced  his  half-century  of  humanitarian  labor  in  a 
benighted  Alsacian  valley,  would  he  have  had  courage  to  pro- 
ceed, for  a  day,  if  he  had  taken  to  heart  Calvin's  abasing  as- 
sumption that  man  cannot  be  moved  to  an  impulse  that  is  good? 

Or  shall  we  accept  the  doctrine  that  there  is  nothing  good  in 
holy  ministerings  like  these  ?  Shall  we  read  the  history  of  our 
race,  bearing  with  us  the  convictior  that  not  a  vii-tuous  action 
there  recorded ;  not  a  noble  deed  of  patriotism,  self-sacrifice, 
mercy,  generosity ;  no  fervent  devotion  of  love ;  no  sublime 
martyrdom  for  opinion's  sake ;  no  consecration  of  life  to  the 
relief  of  sujffering  humanity ;  not  the  purest  aspiration  above 
the  mists  and  the  misbeliefs  of  a  dim  present,  nor  the  most  ex- 
alted endeavor  to  bring  about  a  bright  and  happy  future  for 
humankind — in  a  word,  that  nothing  grand  or  illustrious  which 
has  been  endured,  attempted,  enacted,  by  God's  creatures  in 
this  world  of  His,  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  society  down  to 
the  present  day — is  other  than  a  vile  fruit  of  hypocrisy,*  a  phase 
of  pollution,  at  the  very  best  a  vain  shadow  f  that  is  worthless — 
ay,  damnable! — in  God's  sight? 

The  worst  of  human  errors  is  to  identify  God  with  evil — to 
regard  Him  as  a  Spirit  of  Wrong :  the  next  worst  is  to  identify 
man  with  evil — to  look  upon  him  as  an  outlaw,  past  saving. 
God  deliver  us  from  the  setting  up  of  devil  to  worship,  and  of 
hopeless  depravity  to  believe  I 

Better — if  Calvin's  Stygian  creed  were  truth — to  bum  at 

*  ' '  Let  hypocrites  go  now  and,  retaining  depravity  ia  their  hearts,  en- 
deavor by  their  works,  to  merit  the  favor  of  God," — Quoted,  with  con- 
texb,  on  preceding  page  81. 

f  Both  Luther  and  Melancthon  called  the  virtues  of  the  GentUes 
*  *  mere  shadows  "  (virtutum  umbrae),  and  held  that  Socrates,  Cato,  and 
others  were  virtuous  only  from  ambition.  — Hagenbach,  Mistory  of 
Doctnnes^  vol.  ii.  p.  256. 


122  TRUE   BASIS    OF    HUMILITY. 

once  every  record  of  the  detestable  Past.  To  what  purpose  th« 
perusal  of  a  long  series  of  abominations  ? 

One  finds,  in  Calvin's  *'  Institutes,"  good  cause  for  belief  that 
a  main  object  of  this  Reformer  was  to  inculcate  humility :  a 
praiseworthy  intention.  But  humility  and  self-abasement  are 
as  wide  apart  as  vain-glory  and  self-respect.  Humility  looks  up, 
with  hope ;  self-abasement  looks  around,  with  despair.  There 
is  no  nobler  lesson  than  that  taught  in  Christ's  parable  of  the 
Pharisee,  supercilious  in  his  self-righteousness,  and  the  Publi- 
can standing  afar  off  and  imploring  mercy.  Paul  has  set  out 
the  true  basis  of  humility :  "  What  hast  thou  that  thou  didst 
not  receive  ?  Now,  if  thou  didst  receive  it,  why  dost  thou 
glory  as  if  thou  hadst  not  received  it  ?  "  *  All  that  we  have, 
all  tlmt  we  are,  is  but  a  gift :  if  humble  we  should  not  despise, 
if  precious  we  should  not  parade  it.  But  we  should  recognize 
it ;  and  we  may  recognize  it  with  joy  and  gratitude.  What 
justice  and  Christ's  injunction  alike  forbid  is  that  it  should  in- 
spire us  with  that  pride  which  leadeth  to  destruction.  We 
ought  to  receive  it  humbly ;  we  ought  to  use  it  unostentatiously : 
but  when  we  have  done  our  very  best,  we  should  not,  like  the 
leper  of  old,  go  around  crying  out :  "  Unclean,  unclean !  " 

And  when  one  of  the  elect,  self-installed,  thus  cries  out,  the 
heart — even  if  he  be  unconscious  of  the  truth — is  seldom  in  the 
words  he  utters.  The  belief  in  innate  depravity,  coupled  with 
the  belief  that  one  is  a  favorite  of  God — selected,  with  a  hand- 
ful more,  by  Him,  out  of  countless  myriads  of  his  creatures,  to 
share,  by  exclusive  appointment.  His  glory  forever — such  a  be- 
lief is  practically  incompatible  with  genuine  humility.  I  do 
not  doubt  Calvin's  earnest  desire  to  be  humble ;  yet  his  life 
was  a  li^e  of  spiritual  pride.  With  what  haughty  arrogance 
did  he  look  down  on  Servetus !  He  inveighed  against  the 
overbearing  assumption  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy :  was  there 
humility  in  the  Genevan  theocrat's  own  tyrannic  rule  ? 

It  is  probable  that  Calvin  took  himself  seriously  to  task,  paiu 

*  1  Corinthians  iv.  7. 


EFFECTS   OF   OVERMUCH    INTROSPECTION".  123 

fully  searching  out  every  sin,  dealing  harshly  with  many  of  hig 
own  spiritual  shortcomings.  Yet  even  this  may  be  carried  to 
an  extreme  little  conducive  to  that  humble  charity  which  seelc- 
eth  not  her  own  and  vaunteth  not.  The  evil  effects  of  a  per- 
sistent habit  of  self-introspection  are  often  as  great  as  those 
which  result  from  the  opposite  extreme  of  self-neglect.  It  is  a 
duty  to  care  that  the  body  be  hale  and  that  the  spirit  be  pre- 
pared for  another  world ;  yet  mainly  to  occupy  one's  time  and 
thoughts  with  every  petty  detail  connected  with  the  condition 
of  one's  health,  physical  or  spiritual,  is  an  unwholesome  prac- 
tice, which  nourishes  selfishness  and  fosters  a  spirit  of  exaction. 
We  become,  as  it  were,  all  the  world  to  ourselves,  and  our 
thoughts  and  emotions  gradually  contract,  in  proportion.  Noth- 
ing does  a  man  so  much  good,  physically  and  spiritually — noth- 
ing so  chastens  a  haughty,  worldly  spirit — as,  in  a  measure,  to 
forget  one's  self — to  feel  and  to  think  for  others. 

The  ti-ue  lesson  taught  by  history,  as  regards  man  and  his  at- 
tributes, is  this :  There  is  just  cause  for  surprise  and  gratula 
tion  that,  considering  the  terrible  influences  brought  to  bear, 
by  vitiating  circumstance  and  demoralizing  doctrine,  on  the 
nature  of  man,  his  nature  should  still  exhibit  the  eminent  and 
progressive  spirit  which,  ever  and  anon  breaking  away  from 
evil  training  and  ancient  prejudice,  bids  us  rejoice  that  we  be- 
long to  a  race — erring  and  frail  and  sinful,  indeed — but  in 
which  there  still  inheres,  as  Christ  has  told  us,  an  earnest  of 
the  "  Kingdom  of  God." 

Such  a  race  gradually  discards  its  fanaticisms.  Into  the 
creed  of  the  modem  world  are  entering,  one  by  one,  such  tenets 
as  these  :  Fear,  distrust,  despair,  are  abject  influences.  Terror- 
ism, domestic,  political,  or  religious,  is  of  all  governments  th« 
worst :  it  dwarfs  and  debases  the  race.  A  child  habitually  dis- 
trusted is  exposed  to  the  most  baneful  of  all  temptations.  A 
man  without  hope  and  trust  and  self-respect  is  shorn  of  half 
his  strength. 

Nor  does  the  Genevese  Reformer  seek  to  deny  this.  Noth- 
ing that  can  be  said  of  the  disheartening  influence  of  his  oreed 


124 


is  strcnger  than  his  own  words.  Hear  Ms  confession:  "God 
generally  manages  ibis  disciples,  that  is  to  say  all  the  faithful, 
in  such  a  manner  that  whithersoever  they  turn  their  views 
throughout  the  world,  nothing  but  despair  presents  itself  to 
them  on  every  side."  * 

God  so  manages  ?     Seek  the  true  solution  in  the  lines  : 

"  As  one  who,  turning  from  the  Hght, 
Wjffcchea  his  own  gray  shadow  fall ; 
Doubting,  upon  his  path  of  night, 
If  there  be  day  at  all,"  f 

How  has  Calvin's  gray  shadow  fallen,  for  centuries,  athwart 
the  Christian  world ! 

But  let  us  turn  from  the  shadow  to  the  light :  nor,  because 
the  leaders  of  the  Reformation  have  sectarianized  men's  con- 
ceptions of  faith,  let  us  forget  its  value.  Christ  employed  the 
strongest  metaphors  to  express  its  potency.  J  And  very  surely — 
the  word  being  accepted  in  its  comprehensive  sense — one  can 
hardly  exaggerate  faith's  power  for  good  :  it  can  remove  moun- 
tain-difficulties from  the  path  of  human  progress.  Thus,  faith 
in  noble  effort ;  faith  in  our  common  nature ;  in  its  capabilities  : 
in  its  progress.  Faith  in  the  Good  and  the  Beautiful — in  the 
good  that  is  felt,  not  seen ;  in  the  beautiful  that  must  be  con- 
ceived before  it  can  be  realized.  Faith,  too,  in  the  economy 
of  the  world :  tranquil  assurance  that  all  is  well  and  wisely  or- 
dered by  a  Wisdom  that  sees  deeper  than  ours.  Faith,  again, 
reaching  fai-ther  still :  faith  that  progress  in  knowledge  and 
goodness  ends  not  here,  but  continues  in  another  phase  of  be- 
ing where  there  are  many  mansions,  to  be  occupied  by  those 
who  shall  be  fitted  to  enter  therein. 

And  if  Paul,  in  his  dogmatic  vagaries,  did  mislead  the  early 
.Protestants,  nobly  has  he  elsewhere  supplemented,  in  this  very 
connection,  some  of  the  highest  teachings  of  Jesus.     Far  be- 


B.  iii.  C.  14,  §  4. 
f  Whittier  :  Among  the  HlUs,  p.  80. 
X  Matthew  xxi.  21  ;  Luke  xvii.  6. 


PAUL    IN   PRAISE    OF   LOVE.  12S 

yond  even  Faith  and  Hope,  first  among  Christian  graces,  em- 
braciag  in  its  generous  scope  Peace  and  Mercy  and  Charity  and 
Friendship,  ruling  in  Heaven  as  on  earth,  is  Love. 

But  who,  in  terms  more  glowing  than  the  great  Apostle  oi 
the  Gentiles,  has  spoken  the  praise  of  that  glorious  spirit,  the 
very  soul  animating  the  system  of  morals  and  civilization  set 
forth  by  Christ  ?     Can  we  ever  forget  the  words  ? 

Though  T  speak  with  the  tongues  of  nven  and  of  angels ; 
though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy  and  understand  all  mys 
teries  and  all  knowledge ;  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I 
could  remove  mountains  ;  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed 
the  poor ;  though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned  ;  and  have  not 
love,  I  am  nothing.  "Love  suffereth  long  and  is  kind ;  love 
envieth  not ;  love  vaunteth  not  herself,  is  not  puffed  up,  doth 
not  behave  herself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily 
provoked,  thinketh  no  evil;  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity  but  re- 
joiceth  in  the  truth ;  beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things, 
hopeth  all.  things,  endureth  all  things.  .  .  .  And  now 
abideth  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love,  these  three  ;  but  the  greatest  of 
these  is  Love."  * 

Th  tendency  and  influence  how  immeasurably  far  from  this 
gi-acious  spirit,  "  gentle  and  easy  to  be  intreated,  full  of  mercy 
and  good  fruits,"  was  the  spectre,  mysterious  and  austere, 
whose  outcry  led  astray  the  chief  among  the  Protestant  Fa- 
thers !  Some  men  cannot  hear  the  voice  of  God  except  in  the 
thunder,  f    Think  of  Calvin's  scheme  of  the  world !    A  vale  of 

*  1  have  followed  Tyndale,  the  virtual  patriarch  of  our  authorized 
versioa  of  the  Testament,  in  his  translation,  according  to  its  original 
sense,  of  an  important  word  {agape) .  A  writer  in  Smith's  History  of 
tlie  Bible  (vol.  iii.  p  1676),  adverting  to  King  James'  fifteen  instructions 
to  the  Bible  translators,  of  which  instructions  the  third  was  to  the 
effect  that  "the  old  ecclesiastical  words  were  to  be  kept"  (as  Church 
mstead  of  Congregation) — adds:  "To  this  rule  is  x^robably  due 
"  Charity"  in  1  Corinthians  xiii."  I  prefer  not  to  follow  King  Jamea 
in  this  matter. 

f  ' '  Videor  mihi  non  verba  sed  tonitrua  audire  " — were  St.  Jerome's 
words,  after  meditating  the  Pauline  dogmas  of  Predestination  and 
Election. 


126  THE  theologians'  hell. 

tears  lie  deemed  it — a  vale  of  tears  or  of  impious  license,  lugu- 
brious and  loathsome,  thronged  with  a  depraved  multitude,  mjri- 
ads  on  myriads  of  whom — all  but  a  chosen  few — are  to  their  Crea- 
tor but  as  disinherited  children,  outcast  and  forsaken  ;  suffered 
♦o  wander,  for  a  brief  season,  shrouded  in  moral  darkness, 
along  the  broad  road  that  leads  to  deatruction,  and  then  con- 
signed, by  the  divine  fiat,  to  the  scorching  flames  of  a  bottom 
less   pit,  the   smoke   of  their  torment  ascending  forever   and 


ever  i 


\  * 


I  make  no  argument  against  the  horrors  of  such  a  scheme,  im- 
puted to  a  God  of  Love.  The  generation  that  clings  to  it  must 
die  out  in  its  superstitions,  and  we  must  look  to  the  next  for 
clearer  heads  and  better  hearts. 


§  12.  Corroboration  from  History. 

This  must  be  very  briefly  dealt  with :  for  I  have  already 
transgressed  the  limits  which  I  had  originally  set  for  myself  in 
addressing  you. 

Hallam,  Sir  William  Hamilton,  f  and  others  have  spoken  In 

*  The  theologians  of  that  age  were  wont  to  elaborate  the  picture  : 
"  Alas,  misery  and  pain,  they  must  last  forever  !  O  eternity,  what  art 
thou  ?  O,  end  without  end  !  O  death  which  is  above  every  death ;  to 
die  every  hour  and  yet  not  to  be  able  ever  to  die !  .  .  .  Give  ua  a 
mil] 'Stone,  say  the  damned,  as  large  as  the  whole  earth,  and  so  wide  in 
circumference  as  to  touch  the  sky  all  round ;  and  let  a  Httle  bird  come 
once  in  a  hundred  thousand  years  and  pick  off  a  small  particle  of  the 
stone  not  larger  than  the  tenth  part  of  a  grain  of  millet,  and  after  an- 
other hundred  thousand  years  let  him  come  again,  so  that  in  ten  hun- 
dred thousand  years  he  might  pick  o£E  as  much  as  a  grain  of  millet ;  we 
wretched  sinners  would  ask  nothing  but  that  when  this  stone  has  an 
end,  our  pains  might  also  cease :  but  yet  even  that  cannot  be  !  " — Suso  : 
Bucldein  der  Weisheit,  chap,  xi.,  "  Vom  immerwahrendem  Weh  dei 
HoUe." 

f  Hamilton:  Discus,w>ns,  p.  499,  f^fc.  Hallam:  Literature  of 
Europe,  vol.  i.  x>f^sim. 


DANGEKS    IN   FIRST   FEELING  OF   LTBEETY.  127 

Btrong  terms  of  the  dissolute  manners  •which  followed  tha 
Reformation  in  Germany.  But  I  think  too  little  weight  haa 
usually  been  given  to  the  fact  that  a  certain  license  is  insepara- 
ble from  all  great  moral  revolutions.  Tulloch  takes  a  temper* 
ate  view  of  the  matter :  *'  Such  an  awakening  as  this,  in  Uie 
very  nature  of  the  case,  soon  began  to  run  into  many  extrava- 
gant issues.  In  the  first  feeling  of  liberty  men  did  not  know 
how  to  use  it  temperately ;  and  Anabaptism  in  Germany,  and 
Libertinism  in  France,  testified  to  the  moral  confusion  and 
social  license  that  everywhere  sprang  up  in  the  wake  of  the 
Reformation.  We  can  now  but  faintly  realize  how  ominous  all 
this  seemed  to  the  prospects  of  Protestantism.  It  appeared  to 
many  minds  as  if  it  would  terminate  in  mere  anarchy."  * 

It  is  well  known  how  this  state  of  things  embittered  Luther's 
last  days.  And  we  have  abundant  evidence  that,  at  times,  he 
distrusted  his  own  system.  "  As  he  and  his  Catherine  were 
walking  in  the  garden  one  evening,  the  stars  shone  with  unus- 
ual brightness.  *  What  a  brilliant  light ! '  said  Luther  as  he 
looked  upward  ;  *  but  it  burns  not  for  us.'  '  And  why  are  we 
to  be  shut  out  from  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  ? '  asked  Catherine. 
*  Perhaps,'  said  Luther  with  a  sigh,  *  because  we  left  our  con- 
vents.' '  Shall  we  return,  then  ? '  '  No,'  he  replied,  *  it  is  too 
late  for  that.' "  f 

Six  years  after  Luther's  death  happened  a  noteworthy  thing. 

Amsdorf,  one  of  his  dearest  friends  and  fellow-laborers  in 
Wittenberg,  pending  a  public  discussion  held  in  1552  with 
Major,  an  advocate  for  the  necessity  of  good  works,  maintained 
that  "  good  works  were  an  impediment  to  salvation.'''*  The  re- 
sult is  very  remarkable :  Major  renounced  his  doctrine,  lest  he 
should  be  looked  on  as  "a  disturber  of  the  Church."  | 

A  distinguished  Protestant  divine  acknowledges  that  tha 
Wittenberg  Reformers  were  so  engrossed  by  polemics  that  they 

*  Principal  Tulloch  :  Leaders  of  the  BefoTTnation  (London,  1859)  j 
p.  173. 
t  Quoted  by  Tulloch,  p.  75. 
X  MosHBiM :  Ecclesiastical  SRstory  (London,  1804) ;  voL  iv.  p.  39. 


128 

had  to  neglect  "  the  advancement  of  real  piety  and  religion  ;  ** 
and  tliat  none  of  them  attempted  to  give  a  regular  system  of 
morals.  * 

This,  however,  was  attended  to  by  Calvin ;  not,  like  Luther, 
too  tender-hearted  to  frame  a  moral  and  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment in  accordance  with  his  estimate  of  human  kind.  Within 
meagre  and  barren  limits,  because  of  that  estimate^  were  his 
efforts  pent ;  but  what  he  thought  he  could  do,  he  did.  Body 
and  soul  were  corrupt — incurably,  beyond  earthly  agency  for 
good :  yet  external  decorum  goes  for  something.  The  cup  and 
the  platter  must  ever  remain  full  of  extortion  and  excess,  but 
the  outside  could  be  made  clean :  that  was  within  human  power, 
and  common  decency  required  that  it  should  be  done.  Phy- 
lacteries, fair  with  the  words  of  the  law,  could  be  deferentially 
worn,  their  breadth  determined  by  imperative  rule.  Tithe  of 
mint  and  rue  could  be  paid  to  public  opinion ;  tombs  could  bo 
built  and  sepulchres  garnished ;  though  weightier  matters, 
judgment  and  mercy  and  faith  in  man,  were  unattainable.  To 
the  eye  thiugs  could  be  made  white  and  beautiful  even  if  dead 
men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness  must  needs  abide  beneath. 
Coercion  could  effect  all  this ;  and  the  iron  will  of  the  rigid 
Genevan  determined  that  it  should. 

In  1536  Calvin  and  his  co-worker,  Farell,  drew  up  a  confes- 
sion of  faith  in  twenty-one  articles,  of  which  one  gave  the  clergy 
the  right  of  excommunication;  and  they  procured  from  the 
Council  of  Two  Hundred  a  proclamation,  in  which  these  were 
declared  to  be  binding  on  the  whole  body  of  the  citizens.  Five 
years  later  a  Consistorial  Court  was  appointed,  of  which  Calvin 
appears  to  have  assumed  the  permanent  presidency  ;  f  and  for 

*  "  The  number  of  adversaries  with  whom  the  Lutheran  doctors 
•were  obHged  to  contend  gave  them  perpetual  employment  in  the  field 
of  controversy,  and  robbed  them  of  that  precious  leistu*e  which  they 
might  have  consecrated  to  the  advancement  of  real  piety  and  virtue. 
....  None  of  the  famous  Lutheran  doctors  attempted  to  give  a  regular 
system  of  morality." — MosnEiM:  Ecdedastical  History^  vol.  iv.  p.  24. 

f  TrTLLOCTi :  Leaders  of  the  Bef or  mation, -p.  119.  Henry:  Life  of 
C'doiii,  vcl.  i    M.  403  (Tr-^.n'Afition  by  Stebbing). 


AND   ECCLESIASTICAL   GOVERNMENT.  129 

fts  government  and  that  of  the  Council  he  drew  up  a  code  of 
laws,  ecclesiastical  and  moral,  which  were  sworn  to  by  tha 
people.'*'  This  Court  had  but  one  direct  weapon — excommuni- 
cation :  like  the  Spanish  Inquisition  which  forbore  shedding 
blood,  it  turned  over  the  culprit,  when  anathema  was  deemed 
inadequate  penalty,  to  the  civil  authority  for  punishment,  evei 
unto  death 

History  records  no  more  striking  example  of  tyranny,  with 
authority  intimately  united  of  Church  and  State ;  with  sway, 
social  as  well  as  religious  and  political,  sumptuary  and  domestic 
as  well  as  social,  f  Its  redeeming  point  was,  that  it  put  down 
open  profligacy  and  reformed  dissolute  manners. 

This  is  what  a  friendly  biographer  has  to  say  :  "  A  marvel- 
lous change,  in  the  course  of  a  short  time,  was  wrought  upon 
the  outward  aspect  of  Geneva.  A  gay  and  pleasure-loving 
people,  devoted  to  music  and  dancing,  the  evening, wine-shop 
and  card-playing,  found  themselves  suddenly  arrested  in  theii- 
usual  pastimes.  Not  only  were  the  darker  vices  of  debauchery, 
which  greatly  prevailed,  punished  by  severe  penalties,  but  the 
Lighter  follies  and  amusements  of  society  were  laid  under  im- 
perious ban,  all  holidays  were  abolished  except  Sunday ;  the 
innocent  gayeties  of  weddings  and  the  fashionable  caprices  of 
dress,  were  made  subjects  of  legislation :  a  bride  was  not  to 
adorn  herself  with  floating  tresses,  and  her  welcome  home  was 
not  to  be  noisy  with  feasting  and  revelry.  The  convent  bells 
which  had  rung  their  sweet  chimes  for  ages  across  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Rhone,  and  become  associated  with  many  evening 
memories  of  love  and  song,  had  been  previously  destroyed  and 
cast  into  cannon."  J 

The  details,  attested  by  ofl5cial  records,  are  alternately  ludi 
crous  and  horrible. 

*  On  the  20tli  of  November,  1541. 

f  "  From  his  cradle  to  his  grave  the  Genevese  citizen  was  puisued 
by  its  inquisitorial  eye.''— Calvin  in  Gejieva;  Westminster  Eeview  foi 

July,  1858. 

t  Leaders  of  the  ReformaUan,  pp.  107,  108. 
6* 


130  THE  LITDICEOUS   AND 

At  betrothals,  marriages,  or  baptisms,  it  was  illegal  to  present 
the  guests  vnth.  nosegays  fastened  with  wire-ribbon  (canetilles) 
or  gold  cord  or  jewelled  band.  At  a  marriage-feast  or  othel 
friendly  entertainment  it  was  unlawful  to  set  on  the  table  more 
than  a  single  course  of  meat  including  fish,  and  such  course  was 
limited  to  five  dishes  only :  while  for  dessert  the  law  allowed  no 
pastry  except  a  single  tart  for  every  ten  persons.*  The  char- 
acter of  personal  ornaments,  the  mode  of  cutting  hair  and  the 
length  it  might  be  worn,  the  fashion  of  dress,  were  all  pre- 
scribed :  slashed  breeches,  for  example,  being  prohibited.  \ 

There  was  no  novel-reading  in  those  days ;  but  the  favorite 
substitute  for  our  romances,  Amadis  de  Gaul,  was  peremp- 
torily interdicted ;  nay  the  preachers  of  Geneva,  less  tolerant 
ihan  the  curate  and  barber  when  they  made  a  bonfire  of  Don 
Quixote's  library,  f  burned  every  copy  of  that  work  on  which 
they  could  lay  their  hands. 

Mere  childish  indiscretion  incurred  legal  penalty  :  the  light- 
est jest  was  a  criminal  oflence.  A  young  girl  in  church,  sing- 
ing to  a  psalm-tune  the  words  of  a  song,  was  ordered  to  be 
whipped.  Three  children  were  punished  by  the  authorities  be- 
cause, instead  of  going  to  church,  they  remained  outside  eating 

*  ' ' — et  q'au  dit  dessert  q'ouai  patisserie  ou  piece  de  four,  sinon  rme 
tourt  seulement,  et  cela  en  chacune  table  de  dix  personnes."  The 
word  now  spelt  tourte  is  sometimes  used  for  a  fruit  or  pigeon  pie.  Un- 
der Calvin's  law  there  was  temptation  to  make  huge  pasties. 

Principal  Tulloch  tells  us  that,  whUe  travelling  in  Switzerland,  he 
visited  Geneva  and  sought  out  Calvin's  grave.  A  plain  stone,  with  the 
letters  "I.  C. "  on  it,  was  shown  to  him  as  marking  the  spot ;  and  the 
old  man  who  conducted  him  thither  seemed  (he  says)  to  have  Uttle 
idea  of  the  Great  Reformer  except  as  "  the  man  who  limited  the  num- 
ber of  dishes  at  dinner." — Leaders  of  Reformation,  pp.  120,  147. 

f  "We  saw,"  said  Calvin,  "  that  through  the  chinks  of  those  br'i^echea 
a  door  would  be  opened  to  all  sorts  of  profusion  and  luxury." — Quoted 
by  Ttjlloch,  p.  136. 

X  ''  It  is  the  best  book  of  the  kind  ever  composed,"  cried  the  barber, 
"  and  ought  to  be  pardoned  as  an  original  and  model  in  its  way." 

"  Right,"  said  the  curate,  "  and  for  that  reason  he  shall  be  spared  f<» 
the  present." 


THE  TBAGICAL.  131 

cakes.  A  man,  hearing  an  ass  bray,  said  "  he's  sirring  a  pretty 
psalm ; "  *  and  for  that  offence  was  banished  from  the  city. 
Another  swore  "  by  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ ; "  and  there 
by  incurred  a  fine  and  exposure  in  the  market-place,  hands  and 
feet  in  the  stocks. 

But  all  this  is  as  nothing,  compared  to  the  tragedies  that 
intervened.  The  ecclesiastical  legislator  who  believed  that, 
from  the  hour  of  birth,  children  are  polluted,  and  that  their  na- 
ture ever  remains  odious  and  abominable  to  God,  framed  hia 
laws  accordingly.  Tt  would  be  incredible,  were  it  not  recorded 
by  Calvin's  warmest  admirers,  that  in  1568  a  girl — a  mere 
child — for  having  struck  her  parents,  was  beheaded  I  And  that 
a  lad  of  sixteen,  only  for  a  threat  to  strike  his  mother,  was  con- 
demned to  death,  f 

Order  reigned  in  Geneva !  — at  what  sacrifice  of  human  suf- 
fering and  crushing  of  human  hearts  they  only  know  who  still, 
perhaps,  look  back  from  the  bright  mansions  of  a  better  world 
on  the  gloom  and  the  terrors  of  their  earthly  prison-house. 

I  might  turn  from  the  Continent  of  Europe  to  that  marvel- 
lous little  island  whence  we  of  North  America  chiefly  derive 
our  ancestry,  especially  to  its  northern  portion  ;  there  to  find 
the  same  tree  bearing  its  appropriate  fruit.  But  space  fails  me ; 
and  another  has  already  exhausted  that  field.  J     The  Presbyte- 

*  "  n  chante  un  beau  psaume." 

f  The  above  f  a<jts  are  given  ia  Paul  Heniy's  Leben  Johann  Calvins^  des 
grossen  Reformators ;  Hamburg,  1844  :  translated  by  Hibbert,  London 
and  New  York,  1854  :  vol.  i.  p.  361,  of  translation. 

Partisanship  can  hardly  go  farther  than  did  that  of  Henry ;  who  finds 
in  these  terrible  cruelties  only  "  great  beauty  in  the  earnestness  with 
which  parental  authority  was  defended."  Yet  Henry's  is  generally  con- 
sidered the  best  biography  of  Calvin  extant. 

X  One  of  the  hardest  students  of  our  age,  Henry  Thomas  Buckle,  in 
the  fragment  he  has  left  us  of  a  stupendous  work,  has  a  chapter,  with 
elaborate  references,  devoted  to  the  influence  of  the  Presbyterian  polity 
on  the  Scottish  nation  in  the  seventeenth  century.  So  far  as  the  con- 
dition of  a  country  can  be  predicated  upon  its  theological  literature  and 


132  PEESBYTERIAN   POLITT   OF 

rian  polity  of  the  Scottish  Kirk,  within  a  century  after  Calvin's 
death,  embodied  almost  all  the  worst  features  of  the  Genevan 
tyramiy  :  the  same  despairing  views  of  life  and  death  ;  the  same 
abject  fear  of  offending  the  Creator  by  innocent  pleasures,  and 
incurring  hell-fire  by  wholesome,  light-hearted  gayety ;  the  same 
repression  of  human  affections,  the  same  domiciliary  inquisi- 
tions, the  same  assumption  of  the  right  to  excommunicate,  and 
even  to  inflict,  for  breaches  of  church  discipline,  the  torture  of 

its  Church  records  alone,  we  have  it  there  before  us,  and  may  read  it 
with  much  instruction  and  profit:  it  justifies  all,  and  more  than  all,  that 
I  have  briefly  condensed  into  the  text  above.  Yet  many  of  Buckle's 
strictures  on  Scottish  character  and  intellect,  even  in  the  rude  seven- 
t'Centh  century,  being  founded  on  too  narrow  a  basis,  are  hasty  and  ex. 
aggerated.  Underneath  the  religious  profession  of  this  people,  how 
earnest  soever,  lay  a  deep  vein  (almost  left  out  of  view  by  Buckle)  of 
strong,  shrewd  sense,  and  often  of  daring  humor,  which  protested  alike 
against  theological  dogmatisms  and  clerical  assumption.  The  indications 
of  this  temper  of  mind  come  to  the  surface  occasionally  only  during  the 
period  covered  by  Buckle's  authorities ;  but  the  temper  existed,  never- 
theless ;  and,  a  century  later  (the  eighteenth),  it  found  fearless  expres- 
sion through  a  child  of  the  people,  echoing  their  social  talk  and  un- 
recorded protests.  Robert  Bums  was  none  the  less  the  idol  of  his 
countrymen  because  of  such  racy  heresies  as  stamp  his  addresses  To 
tlie  Unco  Quid  and  To  tlie  Deil.  Of  this  last-  -a  f amihar  remonstrance 
with  Presbyterianism's  Prince  of  Darkness — how  homely  but  scathing 
the  satire!  And  how  charmingly  imbued  with  charity  the  rebuke 
launched  against  the  cruel  spirit  of  the  Bark's  theology,  in  its  conclud- 
ing stanza: 

"But  fare-ye-weel,  auld  Nickie-ben, 

O  wad  ye  tak  a  thocht  an  men'  I 

Ye  aiblina  micht — I  dinna  ken — 
Still  hae  a  stake. 

I'm  wae  to  think  upo'  yon  den. 
E'en  for  your  sake." 

For  those  to  whom  the  old  dialect  of  Scotland  is  more  or  less  of  an 
unknown  tongue,  I  here  subjoin  a  prosaic — a  Dery  prosaic— paraphrase 
of  these  inimitable  Unes  : 

"■  I''are  you  well.  Old  Nick  !  Oh,  if  you  would  but  take  thought  and 
mend  your  ways !  you  might  perhaps — who  knows  ? — have  a  chance 
still.  For  your  own  sake,  it  is  a  grief  to  me,  the  thought  of  that  don 
of  yours !  *' 


THE   SCXymSH  KIRK.  133 

the  scourge  and  of  the  branding-iron.*  In  compensation,  also, 
there  was  the  same  unflinching  war  waged  against  profligacy 
and  dissolute  conduct.  One  marked  diSerence,  however,  de- 
serves notice.  Whereas  the  Genevan  lawgiver  inculcated  sub- 
mission to  kings,  however  bad,  f  the  Scottish  preachers  were 
democratic,  to  the  verge  of  rebellion :  |  defending  the  people 
against  every  despotism  except  their  own,  and  claiming  that  the 
ministers  of  the  Kirk  (their  commission  derived  directly  frora 
God)  had  the  sole  righb  to  demand  implicit,  unreasoning  obe- 
dience. Subjugators  of  tho  conscience,  enemies  of  toleration, 
they  were  sturdy  friends  of  political  freedom. 

But,  resisting  temptation  to  enlarge  on  this  and  cognate  ex- 
amples from  European  history,  let  us  proceed  to  inquire  whether 
this  plant  of  Calvinism,  when  transferred  to  another  hemis- 
phere, essentially  varied  in  its  type  or  in  its  productions. 

Let  us  pass  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  s«venteenth  century 
and  cross  the  Atlantic  with  the  Puritans. 

A  grand,  old  race! — the  stuff  that  heroes  and  empire-found 
ers  are  made  of.  What  they  thought  right  they  did,  and 
seldom  asked  whether  it  was  pleasant  to  do  it.  They  were 
estimable  but  they  were  not  amiable.  They  were  men  and 
women  to  trust  to  in  the  hour  of  trial ;  but  to  deal  with  in 
daily  life !     Right  glad  may  we  be  that  we.  did  not  live  among 


*  "  On  the  22d  October,  1648,  the  Kirk  Session  of  Dunfermline  or- 
dered that  a  certain  Janet  Robertson  '  shall  be  cartit  and  scourged 
through  the  town  and  markit  with  an  hot  iron.'  " — Chalmers  :  History 
of  Dunfermline,  p.  437,  quoted  by  Buckle. 

f  •'  The  Word  of  God  requires  us  to  submit  to  the  government,  not 
only  of  those  princes  who  discharge  their  duty  to  us  with  becoming  in- 
tegrity and  fidelity,  but  of  all  who  possess  the  sovereignty,  even  though 
they  perform  none  of  the  duties  of  their  station The  se- 
ditious thought  must  never  enter  into  our  minds  that  a  king  is  to  be 
treated  according  to  his  merits." — Calvin  :  Inst.^  B.  iv.  C.  20,  §§25,  27. 

X  See,  for  sundry  illustrations,  the  chapter  of  Buckle's  work  already 
tofenfid  to. 


134  CALVINISM   AMONG    THE   PURITANS. 

them  in  the  days  v/hen  such  as  Hester  Prynne  walked  about 
with  that  scarlet  letter  on  their  breasts.  * 

In  the  Colonial  character,  the  theology  of  the  Instituted 
vras  a  pervading  element,  for  good  and  for  evil.  The  best 
virtues  of  the  New  England  pioneers  were  those  of  stout,  self- 
sacrificing  seekers  after  liberty.  The  hardihood  that  broke 
away  from  Papacy  in  Rome,  cast  loose  also  from  intolerant 
Prelacy  in  England.  Nor  did  they  heed  the  cost  of  voluntary 
exile.  Calvin's  dismal  view  of  God's  world  toughened  them  as 
settlers.  Not  expecting  ease,  comfort,  social  enjoyment,  the 
amenities  of  life — regarding  these,  indeed,  with  suspicion,  as 
effeminacies  used  by  the  Evil  One  for  baits  to  ensnare  the  un- 
wary— hardship  and  suffering  were  what  they  looked  for ;  and 
when,  in  their  rude  frontier  life,  they  encountered  these,  they 
met  them,  as  God's  normal  allotments  to  His  Saints,  with  iron 
fortitude.  They  were  hard  on  themselves  and  on  others,  as 
befitted  believers  in  universal  depravity. 

These  acerbities  seemed  to  assort  with  their  condition.  But 
the  followers  of  the  Pilgrims  brought  to  Plymouth  rock  a  fatal 
element,  relic  of  human  barbarism,  however  cherished  by  the 
Reformers — a  crime  against  the  deathless  soul — religious  per- 
secution. Laws  that  stain  their  statute-books,  deeds  that  blot 
their  annals,  are  traceable  to  the  same  source  as  the  edicts  and 
the  inflictions  of  the  Genevese  Consistorial  Court. 

**  I  approve,"  said  Calvin,  "  of  civil  government  which  pro- 
vides that  the  true  religion  which  is  contained  in  the  law  of 
God  be  not  violated  and  polluted  by  public  blasphemies."  f 

The  New  England  offspring  of  this  sentiment,  is  a  law  en- 
acting that  whoso  affirms  works,  not  faith,  to  be  the  mode  of 
salvation  ;  or  opposes  infant  baptism ;  or  purposely  leaves  the 
church  when  infants  are  about  to  be  baptized ;  shall  suffer  ban- 

*  "  A  M-pital  A  of  two  laches  long,  cut  out  in  cloth  of  a  contrary 
csolour  to  their  cloaths,"  etc. — General  Laws  and  Liberties  of  Massachu- 
setts^ chap,  xxviii,  §  1. 

\  Institutes,  B.  iv.  C.  20,  §  3. 


PERSECUTION    OF    QUAKEE8.  135 

ishmODt:*  and  that  whoso  denies  the  infallibility  of  anj  por- 
tion whatever  of  the  Bible,  shall,  for  the  firdt  offence,  "  be 
openly  and  severely  whipped  by  the  executioner,"  and,  for  the 
second,  may  be  put  to  death,  f 

Speaking  of  those,  who  imagine  to  themselves  some  other 
method  than  the  Scriptural  one  of  approaching  God,  Calvin 
had  said :  "  They  must  be  considered  not  so  much  misled  by 
error  as  actuated  by  frenzy;  "  and  again  :  "  These  persons  are 
guilty  of  detestable  sacrilege."  J 

Strictly  in  the  spirit  of  these  doctrines  were  framed  the  Puri- 
tan laws  against  "  a  cursed  set  of  hereticks  lately  risen  up  in  the 
world  which  are  commonly  called  Quakers."  §  They  provided, 
as  punishment  of  a  Quaker  on  the  first  conviction,  twenty 
stripes ;  on  the  second,  the  loss  of  an  ear  if  a  man,  if  a 
woman  to  be  severely  whipped  ;  on  the  third,  whether  man  or 
wo7na7i,  to  have  the  tongue  bored  through  with  a  red-hot  iron : 
Quakers  returning  to  the  colony  after  banishment,  to  suffer 
death.  || 

We  have  no  record  that  the  boring  of  men's  and  women's 
tongues  with  a  red-hot  iron  was  ever  carried  out.     But  Bishop, 

*  Banishment  of  Baptists  under  this  law  occurred  throughout  several 
years  of  the  Colonial  history. 

f  Ancient  Laws  and  Charters  of  Massachmetts  Bay,  published  by 
order  of  the  General  Court,  Boston,  1814 ;  pp.  120,  121. 

The  preamble  of  these  "  Acts  against  Heresy,"  is  a  curious  specunen 
of  logic.  It  recites  that  "  although  no  human  power  be  Lord  over  the 
faith  and  consciences  of  men,  yet  because  such  as  bring  in  damnable 
heresies  ....  ought  duly  to  be  restrained,"  it  is  enacted,  etc. 

The  law  above  cited  making  it,  at  the  option  of  the  Court,  a  capital 
offence  to  "deny  by  word  or  writing  any  of  the  books  of  the  Old  or 
New  Testament  to  be  the  written  and  mf  allible  Word  of  God,"  enumer- 
ates these  books  by  title  from  Genesis  to  Revelations,  including,  oi 
course,  that  epistle  of  James  which  Luther  rejected.  The  Wittenberg 
doctor,  had  he  been  a  colonist  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  might  have  lost 
his  life  for  his  opinions. 

X  Institutes,  B.  i.  C.  9,  §  1. 

§  The  words  of  the  preamble  to  the  laws  against  Quakers. 

8  Laws  cited  •  pp.  121-120.     Their  date  is  a.d.  1656-7. 


136  EXECUTION   OF   QUAKERS. 

in  his  New  England  Judged^  has  left  it  on  record  that  threft 
Qiaker  men  had  each  his  right  ear  cut  off;  *  that  "  Patience 
Scott,  a  girl  eleven  years  old,  was  imprisoned  for  Quaker  ^^rin- 
cipies ;  and  that,  when  her  mother,  Catherine  Scott,  reproved 
them  for  a  deed  of  darkness,  they  whipped  her  ten  stripes, 
though  they  allowed  her  to  be  otherwise  of  a  blameless  conver- 
sation and  well-bred,  being  an  English  clergyman's  daughter."  f 

The  death,  by  hanging,  of  three  Quaker  men  and  one  Quaker 
woman,  executed  because,  after  banishment,  they  returned  to 
the  colony,  is  well  known.  They  died  with  eminent  fortitude, 
wUling  martyrs  to  freedom  of  conscience,  on  Boston  Common.J 

Some  of  the  terms  of  Puritan  indictment,  against  men  thus 
tried  for  their  lives,  sound  strangely  to-day.  It  was  charged 
against  William  Leddra  that  he  "  had  refused  to  take  off  his 
hat  in  court,  and  would  say  thee  and  thouy  "  Will  you  put 
me  to  death,"  he  asked,  "  for  speaking  good  English  and  for 
not  putting  off  my  clothes  ?  "  § 

The  poor  excuse  made  by  their  executioners  was  a  declara' 
tion,  spread  on  the  records  of  the  Court,  that  "  they  desired 
their  lives  absent  rather  than  their  deaths  present."  The 
apology  usually  offered  to-day  for  these  legal  killings  is  that 
the  Quakers  who  landed  at  Boston  were  disturbers  of  public 
peace  and  decency,  as  well  as  heretics.  But  their  principles 
were  emphatically  of  peace,  simplicity,  and  non-resistance :  nor 
is  it  true  that  they  made  any  disturbance  whatever  until  some 
of  their  property  had  been  destroyed  and  their  personal  liberty 

*  Their  naraes  were  Holder,  Copeland,  and  Rous. 

f  Quoted  by  Hutchinson :  Histoi'y  of  Massachusetts,  vol.  i.  p.  184. 

t  Marmaduke  Stephenson,  )      _,         .-,/-,.,      nrt  a  n^n 
-rxT.,,.       -r.  ,  .  f     Executed  October  37,  1659. 

William  Kobmson,  ) 

Mary  Dyar,  "         June  1,  1660. 

WilUam  Leddra,  "        March  14,  1661. 

Four  only,  be  it  borne  in  mind  ;  and  we  have  no  list  of  the  five  thou- 
sand whom  Torquemada  handed  over  to  the  flames  :  but  Torquemada 
never  talked  about  liberty,  civil  or  religious. 

§  Chandleb  :  Americcm  GriimncU  Trials;  Little  &  Brown,  Boston, 
1841  :  voL  i.  p.  46. 


EFFECTS   OF   LEGAL   BRUTALITY.  137 

violated.  The  first  two  Quakers  who  set  foot  in  the  colony, 
Mary  Fisher  and  Ann  AustLQ,  were  seized  on  shipboard,  theii 
books  burnt  by  the  hangman,  they  themselves  closely  impris 
oned  for  five  weeks  and  then  thrust  out  of  the  colony.  *  Dar- 
ing the  same  year  eight  others  were  sent  back  to  England. 
These    (and   far   worse  f)    infractions  of  the  freedom  of  the 

*  They  arrived  in  Jnly,  1656. 

f  It  was  a  crime  to  afford  them  hospitality,  or  even  to, direct  them 
on  their  way.  In  1660,  at  one  court,  seven  or  eight  persons  were  fined 
as  high  as  ten  pounds  for  entertaining  Quakers  ;  and  Edward  "Wharton, 
for  pUoting  them  from  one  place  to  another,  was  whipped  twenty 
stripes  and  bound  over  for  his  good  behavior.  See,  for  particulars  of 
these  and  other  persecutions  of  this  sect,  Hutchinson's  History  of  Mass- 
achusetU^  vol.  i.  pp.  180  to  189. 

In  the  legal  records  of  these  days  we  find  darker  shades.  In  1662, 
three  women,  Anne  Colman,  Mary  TomMns,  and  Alice  Ambrose  (con- 
victed under  the  law  against  "  vagabond  Quakers  ")  were  sentenced  to 
be  tied  to  a  cart's  tail,  stripped  from  the  waist  up  and  whipped,  with 
ten  stripes  in  each  town,  through  deven  towns,  to  wit,  Dover,  Hampton, 
Salisbury,  Newbury,  Rowley,  Ipswich,  Wenham,  Lynn,  Boston,  Rox- 
bury,  and  Dedham — a  hundred  and  ten  stripes,  in  all.  "  One  of  the 
nipples  of  Anne  Colman's  breast  was  split  by  the  knots  of  the  whip, 
causing  extreme  torture."  {GrirmnaZ  Trials,  already  quoted,  vol.  i.  p. 
54. )  This  was  in  the  dead  of  a  New-England  winter,  the  warrant  bear- 
ing date  December  22,  1662.  No  wonder  that  warrant  was  eventually 
executed  in  three  towns  only  ;  the  humanity  of  public  sentiment  rising 
in  protest  against  legal  brutality. 

One  reads  with  more  sorrow  than  surprise  some  of  the  extravagances 
which  followed  these  indecent  cruelties.  In  1665  Lydia  Wardell,  a 
respectable  married  woman,  entered  stark  naked  into  the  church  in 
Newbury,  where  she  formerly  worshipped,  "  and  was  highly  extolled  for 
her  submission  to  the  inward  light  that  had  revealed  to  her  the  duty 
of  thus  illustrating  the  spiritual  nakedness  of  her  neighbors."  In  the 
Bame  year,  Deborah  "Wilson,  a  young  married  woman  of  unblemished 
character,  made  a  similar  display  in  the  streets  of  Salem,  for  which  she 
was  condemned  to  be  stripped  from  the  waist  upward,  tied  to  a  cart's 
feiil,  and  whipped. — Criminal  Tiicds,  vol.  L  pp.  54,  55. 

How  fervid,  in  those  mistaught  old  times,  the  zeal  among  perse- 
mtors  and  persecuted  alike  !  Now  that  we  have  knowledge  to  guide 
it,  how  has  the  fervor  died  out ! 


/3S  EOGEli   WILLIAIkIS   BANISHED. 

citizen,  preceded  the  clamorous  testimony  borne  by  Quake ra 
against  colonial  rule. 

The  Calvinism  of  those  days  forbade  even  to  tolerate  tolera 
tion.  The  bravest  champion  of  man's  right  to  worship  God  as 
conscience  bids — the  noblest  apostle  of  soul-freedom  among 
them  all  * — was  compelled  to  flee  the  colony  under  cloud  oi 
wintry  night ;  owed  his  life  to  heathen  hospitality  ;  and  when 
this  future  lawgiver  of  Rhode  Island  embarked  at  last  to  found 
a  settlement  where  God  alone  should  be  judge  of  human  relig- 
ions, it  was  in  an  Indian  canoe,  with  five  followers  only.  Yet 
the  offence  for  which  Roger  Williams  was  banished  the  juris- 
diction, f  was  not  that  his  own  creed  was  heretical,  but  that  he 
was  guilty  of  granting  to  others  the  same  right  to  choose  a  creed 
which  he  claimed  for  himself. 

Little  more  than  a  century  after  this  America  had  a  Consti- 
tution in  which  all  laws  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion, 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof,  were  forbidden.  So 
fast,  despite  dwarfing  creeds,  grows  the  spirit  of  man  in  a  new 
and  a  free  country. 

Other  Calvinisms,  too,  we  have  outgrown.  The  counterpart 
of  laws  under  which  children  were  beheaded  in  Geneva,  are 
found  on  the  records  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colonies.  "  If  any  child  or  children  above  sixteen  years  old, 
and  of  sufficient  understanding,  shall  curse  or  smite  their  natu- 
ral father  or  mother,  he  or  they  shall  be  put  to  death :"  the 
only  exception  being  unless  it  shall  be  proved  that  the  parents 

*  I  scaTcely  remember  a  parallel  case,  except  one — among  the  Hia 
doos.  A  Brahmin  once  suffered  martyrdom  under  a  Mussulman  prince, 
for  preaching  the  doctriae  of  his  sect,  that  ' '  all  religions  if  sincerelji 
practised,  are  acceptable  t*  God."  "  In  the  whole  annals  of  suffering 
for  righteousness'  sake,"  says  the  narrator,  "  I  know  of  no  martyrdom 
more  glorious  than  this." — Bruce  :  Scenes  and  Liglits  in  tJie  East. 

f  A  warrant  enforcing  his  banishment  to  England  had  issued  against 
nim  (January,  1636)  at  the  time  he  fled  from  Salem,  and  wandered  foi 
three  winter  months,  "  not  knowing  what  bread  or  bed  did  mean,"  er« 
he  reached  the  friendly  cabin  of  Massasoit,  chief  of  Pocanoket. 


LAWS   AGAINST   REBELLIOUS    CHILDEEN.  139 

'  feave  been  very  unchristianly  negligent  in  the  education  ol 
puck  ckildren,"  or  else  that  the  children  "  have  been  forced 
thereunto  to  preserve  themselves  from  death  or  maiming." 

This  refers  to  both  sexes :  the  next  section  applies  to  boys 
only :  "  If  any  man  have  a  stubborn  or  rebellious  son  of  suffi- 
cient years  of  understanding  (viz.),  sixteen  years  of  age,  which 
will  n  )tobey  the  voice  of  his  father  nor  the  voice  of  his  mother, 
and  that  when  they  have  chastised  him  he  would  not  hearken 
unfco  them,"  the  parents  shall  bring  him  before  the  magistrates, 
and  testify  that  he  is  stubborn  and  rebellious,  and  "  such  a  son 
shall  be  put  to  death."  * 

A  girl  of  sixteen,  because  she  struck  her  mother — a  boy  of 
ihat  age,  if  denounced  to  the  magistrates  by  his  parents  on  the 
general  charge  that  he  was  stubborn  and  rebellious — was  to  be 
hanged  !  And  this,  in  our  own  country,  little  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago ! 

That  no  executions  took  place  under  this  law,  or  under  the 
clause  of  the  other  law  according  to  which  a  denial  that  the 
Bible  was  infallible  became  a  capital  offence — is  due  to  this, 
that  the  Puritans  were  men  before  they  were  Calvinists,  and 
that  their  hearts  were  more  merciful  than  their  doctrines. 

None  the  less,  the  theocracy  of  the  first  two  New  England 
colonies,  patterned  after  that  of  Geneva,  was  a  despotism,  fatal 
to  progress. 

Fatal — because  it  was  founded  on  the  ancient,  mischievous 
error  of  retributive  justice  :  an  error  of  which  the  tendency  is 
to  retard  the  moral  advance  of  the  world. 

Take  any  great  social  reform  that  now  enlists  philanthropic 
zeal,  whether  of  law,  or  education,  or  prison  discipline — whether 
in  lunatic  asylums  or  in  temperance  labors,  or  in  the  struggle 
against  the  great  sin  of  great  cities — take  any  such  enlightened 
movement  that  is  made  in  our  modern  day,  to  civilize  mankind 

*  Laws  cited;  pp.  59,  60.  The  date  is  a.d.  1646.  The  laws  ol 
New  Plymouth  had  the  same  two  sections  for  the  capital  punishment  of 
children  cursing  or  striking  parents,  and  of  disobedient  sons. — Imw»  oJ 
Plymouth  Colony,  p.  245. 


140 

— look  into  its  organization,  and  ask  its  conductors  what  is  its 
governing  principle  :  you  will  learn  tliat  it  is  based  on  the  beliet 
that  man's  better  nature  can  be  confidently  appealed  to ;  that 
love  is  stronger  than  fear,  and  gentle  influences  more  humaniz- 
ing than  penal  rigors.  This  accords  with  Christ's  religion ;  but 
it  runs  directly  counter  to  the  Genevese  theology.  When  re- 
forms, thus  administered,  are  carried  out,  it  is  done  despite  the 
chilling  and  deadening  tendencies  of  Calvinism. 

The  world  owes  the  Reformers  a  vast  debt,  but  not  for  their 
theology.     It  owes  it — 

Because  they  maintained  that  the  succession  of  ecclesiarcha 
who,  for  a  thousand  years,  had  ruled  the  Christian  world  from 
Rome,  were  not  infallible. 

Because  they  exposed  many  corruptions  which  had  crept  into 
the  Church  over  which  these  ecclesiarchs  presided. . 

Because  they  denied  the  merit,  and  the  saving  power,  oi 
many  empty  ceremonials ;  of  ascetical  austerities,  of  monkish 
seclusions ;  of  fasts,  pilgrimages,  celibate  vows  ;  and  of  par- 
dons said  to  be  of  God,  yet  purchased  with  silver  and  gold. 

And,  generally,  because  they  shook,  to  its  foundation,  an  an- 
cient system  of  ecclesiastical  rule  which  debarred  religious  pro- 
gress, which  habitually  employed  religious  persecution,  and 
which,  as  a  whole,  had  outlived  its  utility. 

But  we  owe  them  far  more  than  this.  The  inestimable  boon 
which  the  Reformers  bestowed  on  mankind  was  the  disentlirall- 
ment  of  the  Christian  Record,  till  their  day  locked  up  in  the 
Latin  of  the  Yulgate ;  and,  even  in  that  secluded  form,  pro- 
hibited, as  we  have  seen,  by  express  canon,  to  all  but  the  priest- 
hood. 

Their  theology  will  die  out,  but  the  results  of  that  great  gift 
will  endure  forever.  The  gift  will  finally  prove  an  antidote  to 
the  theology.* 

*  I  would  not  be  understood  as  denying  that  the  theology,  though  it 
ran  much  closer  to  downright  Antinomianism  than  Catholicism  ever  did, 
was  yet,  in  its  day,  a  certain  progress.    Luther  as  theologian,  for  exam 


rNFEEENOES.  Ittl 

What  are  the  fair  inferences  from  the  summary  of  historical 
events  and  religious  doctrines  given  on  the  preceding  pages  ? 

The  Protestantism  of  the  Reformation  failed  to  make  head 
against  the  Catholicism  of  E-ome — 

1.  Because  its  foundation-principles  were  derived  from  two 
of  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  not  from  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

2.  Because  the  theology  of  the  Reformers  is  not  (any  mor€ 
than  Romanism)  in  the  nature  of  a  progressive  science. 

3.  Because  that  theology  is  not  a  fitting  agent,  at  this  age  of 
the  world,  to  correct  the  manners  of  the  day,  or  work  out  the 
civilization  of  mankind. 

And,  finally,  the  history  of  the  reverses  which  overtook  the 
Reformers,  after  their  first  half-century  of  success,  is  not  to  be 
accepted  as  proof  that  Christianity,  though  a  revealed  religion, 
is  devoid  of  that  element  of  progress  which  inheres  in  material 
science. 

This  last  inference  is  negative  only :  but  I  advance  another 
step.  I  assert  that  Christianity,  wisely  studied  as  a  revealed 
religion,  is  in  the  nature  of  a  progressive  science  ;  and,  if  you 
will  follow  me  a  few  pages  farther,  I  hope  to  show  you  good 
cause  for  the  assertion. 


§13.  Christianity,  bhobn  op  parasitic. Creeds,  a  Progres- 
sive Science. 

"  A  Christian  of  the  fifth  century,  with  a  Bible,  is  on  a  par  with  a 
Christian  of  the  nineteenth  cei\tiiry  with  a  Bible ;  candor  and  natural 
acuteness  being,  of  course,  supposed  equal." — ^Macaulay. 

While  I  utterly  dissent  from  the  opinion  which  Macaulav 

pie,  advanced  beyond  Tetzel,  He  never,  indeed,  shook  himself  free 
from  the  primitive  idea  of  indulgences ;  but  he  held  that  these  were 
granted  by  God  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  sufiEerings,  and  could  not  be 
granted  by  priests  for  the  sake  of  money.  He  spiritualized  the  idea ; 
but  it  was  a  false  idea  that  he  spiritualized. 


142  MACAULAY  DENIES   RELIGIOUS  PEOGRESS. 

here  ex])resses  I  can  readily  imagine  by  what  process  he  reaches 
such  a  conclusion. 

He  means,  of  course,  that  his  fifth-century  Christian  should 
have  had  the  privilege  of  reading  the  Bible,  and  of  finding  it 
written  or  printed  in  a  language  with  which  he  was  familiar : 
conditions  which  existed  not,  for  the  body  of  the  laity,  until  a 
thousand  years  after  the  fifth  century.  But  he  means,  doubt- 
less, much  more  than  this.  He  assumes,  probably,  that  his 
nineteenth-century  Christian  believes  in  the  plenary  inspiration 
of  the  Bible,  as  sole  source  of  spiritual  knowledge,  word  for 
word  as  translators  have  given  it ;  and,  further,  in  the  miracu- 
lous character  of  the  "signs  and  wonders,"  narrated  in  the  four 
Gospels. 

No  doubt  many  Protestant  professors  of  Christianity  do  still 
hold  to  such  beliefs ;  and  no  doubt  such  beliefs  do,  in  a  measure, 
put  the  professing  Christian  of  to-day  on  a  par  with  the  Chris- 
tian of  centuries  long  past. 

If  I  thought  that  such  beliefs  were  to  continue  for  genera 
tions  still  to  come,  I  should  admit  that  Macaulay  had  plausible 
ground  for  his  hopelessness  in  religious  progress,  and  that  Ro- 
man Catholicism  had  as  fair  a  prospect  of  becoming  the  religion 
of  Christendom  as  Protestantism  has.  But  I  feel  assured  that 
these  old-time  doctrines  are  passing  away.  Whenever  they  dis- 
appear, then  Christianity  will  overcome  not  only  the  errors 
which  preceded  the  Reformation,  but  those  of  the  Beformation 
also  :  and  then  the  Christian — not  as  Boman  Catholic,  not  as 
Protestant,  but  as  Christian — will  have  a  future  before  him  of 
religious  peace  and  religious  development. 

Infallibility,  whether  of  man  or  book ;  disbelief  in  the  uni- 
versal reign  of  law,  and  misbelief  that  the  Great  Lawgiver  ar- 
bitrarily suspends  his  own  laws  ;  these  are  the  lions  in  the  way 
that  arrest  the  Christian  pilgrim's  progress. 

— Infallibility,  whether  of  man  or  book.  These  last  words 
are,  in  strictness,  unnecessary.  For  God  makes  no  books.  Nor 
can  any  book  be  said  to  have  been  written  by  His  dictation. 
However  it  may  have  been  in  Eden,  God  shows  Himself  not,  in 


INFALLIBILITY    MAN^S    DOCTEINE,  NOI    GOD^S.  143 

this  world,  to  man.  He  does  not  walk  in  the  garden  in  the 
cool  of  the  day ;  nor  does  His  voice  reach  His  creatures  here, 
in  exhortation  or  in  reproof. 

Then,  as  God  himself  does  not  write  history,  any  more  than 
He  dictates  works  on  science  or  treatises  on  art,  all  history,  sa- 
cred or  profane,  must  come  to  us  written  by  man ;  in  other 
words,  it  must  come  to  us  transmitted  through  a  fallible  medium 
We  cannot  change  this,  and  we  ought  not  to  forget  it.  It  oo« 
curs  according  to  the  nature  of  things;  or,  otherwise  expressed, 
by  God's  ordination. 

We  can,  indeed,  imagine  God  making  a  Pope,  or  an  Evangel- 
ist, infallible ;  but,  in  either  case,,  it  is  a  man.  God  has  not 
told  us  that  Pius  IX.,  from  the  date  of  his  election  by  a  College 
of  Cardinals,  became  infallible ;  neither  has  he  told  us  that 
IMatthew  was  so,  while  engaged  in  writing  or  dictating  his 
gospel.  And  although  the  Pope  claims  infallibility,  neither 
Matthe-v/  nor  any  of  his  co-evangelists  set  up  any  such  claim.* 
It  was  set  up,  for  them  and  for  a  few  other  writers,  nearly  fif- 
teen hundred  years  ago.  The  (Ecumenical  Council  which  as- 
sembled at  Carthage  in  the  year  397,  proclaimed  the  infallibility 
of  the  author  of  every  book  which  they  then  decided  to  include 
in  the  canon  of  the  Bible,  and  Pope  Innocent  I.  confirmed  their 
decision :  this  decision  all  orthodox  Protestants  accept.  In  like 
manner  the  (Ecumenical  Council  which  assembled  at  Rome  in 
the  year  1870  declared  the  Pope  to  be,  like  all  his  official  pre- 
decessors, infallible :  this  declaration  all  orthodox  Roman  Cath- 
olics accept.  But  orthodox  Catholic  and  Protestant  alike  ac- 
cept these  canons  of  infallibility  from  men,  not  from  God. 

The  Church  of  Rome  has  given  to  Protestantism  an  immense 
advantage  by  the  error  she  made  in  reaffirming  the  infallibility 
of  the  Pope.  But  Protestantism  will  lose  that  advantage  if  she 
clings  to  a  remnant  of  Catholicism  that  is  quite  as  untenable  : 

*  "  Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth  in  order  a  dec- 
laration of  those  things  which  are  most  surely  believed  among  us  .  .  . 
it  seeaied  good  to  me  also  ...  to  write,  etc.,"  are  Luke's  modesi 
words. — Luke  i.  1-3. 


144  ^  .  PLENARY   INSPIRATION   IS 

the  plenary  inspiration  of  every  writer  in  the  Bible.  It  is  jusi 
Rs  fatal  a  mistake  to  declare  one  man,  or  one  set  of  men,  infalli- 
ble as  another. 

This  mistake  connects  itself  with  disbelief  in  the  uniform 
prevalence  of  law.  For  there  is  no  law  governing  the  world 
which  is  better  entitled  to  be  called  universal,  or  which  is  more 
palpable,  than  that  all  men  are  fallible,  and  are  left  by  God  to 
the  guidance  of  that  judgment,  ever  liable  to  error,  which  He 
has  given  them. 

It  is  the  more  difficult  to  imagine  any  suspension  of  this  law, 
because  the  gift  of  infallibility  to  one  man  would  not  only  ren- 
der his  own  reason  useless,  but  would  give  him  a  despotic  right 
over  the  reason  of  his  fellows  :  the  right  which  the  Pope  claims 
to-day. 

In  so  far  as  men  act  upon  the  belief  that  any  author,  or  any 
ecclesiarch,  is  an  infalKble  teacher,  just  to  that  extent  is  free- 
dom of  conscience  disallowed  and  trodden  under  foot.  But 
freedom  of  conscience  is  an  indispensable  condition  of  religious 
progress. 

I  am  speaking  here  not  as  doubting  that  Christ  was  an  In- 
spired Teacher,  nor  as  denying  the  probability  that  his  biogra- 
phers, in  recalling  and  recording  the  sayings  of  their  Master, 
may  have  had  spiritual  aid :  *  I  am  speaking  of  the  doctrine 
that  every  word  of  every  book  included  in  the  Scriptural  Canon 
of  the  Latin  Church  and  translated  under  instructions  from 
King  James,  is  direct  speech  of  God,  and  therefore  to  be  held 
as  literal  and  infallible  truth. 

That  doctrine  should,  in  my  judgment,  be  rejected,  not  only 
because  it  is  untenable,  f  but  because  of  its  practical  effect.     The 

*  I  admit  inspiration,  but  not  plenary  inspiration  ;  I  admit  revela- 
tion, but  not  revelation  free  from  Hability  to  error :  both  inspiration 
ai.'i  revelation  occurring  xinder  law.  Of  this,  in  the  next  section,  a  few 
pages  farther  on. 

f  My  limits,  of  course,  forbid  detailed  discussion  of  this  aspect  of  the 
doctrine.  It  takes  for  granted  the  infallible  integrity  of  numberless 
custodians  through  dark  ages;  and  the  infallible  accuracy  alike  of 
copyists  and  translators — of  those  translator^  of  our  Authorized  Version 


AN    UNTENABLE   DOCTEINE.  145 

worship  of  words  is  more  pernicious  than  the  worship  of  images. 
Grammatolatry  is  the  worst  species  of  idolatry.     We  have  ar- 

who,  in  the  original  preface  to  that  work,  vindicated  a  common  prac- 
tice of  theirs  (namely,  the  translatiag  one  word  of  the  original  by 
various  English  words),  partly  by  the  childish  plea  that  it  would  be  un- 
fair to  choose  some  words  for  the  high  honor  of  being  the  channel  of 
God's  truth,  and  to  pass  over  others  as  unworthy.  It  assumes  that  no 
mterpolation  was  possible :  yet  every  well-read  divinity  student  knows 
(to  select  a  single  example)  that  one  of  the  most  important  texts  iii  the 
Crst  Epistls  of  John  (v.  7  :  "  For  there  are  three  that  bear  witness  in 
Heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are 
one  ")— is  a  forgery  of  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  century  ;  being  con- 
taiaed  in  four  only  out  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  manuscripts  of  that 
epistle.  (Smith's  BictionaTy  of  tJie  Bible,  i.  1115.)  And  this  is  but  one 
of  many  disputed  passages ;  as  ii  23,  in  the  same  epistle. 

Then  what  multitudes  of  other  questions  arise  !  Was  it  through  the 
special  inspiration  of  God  that  Paul,  in  most  of  his  epistles,  but  espe- 
cially in  Corinthians  and  Thessalonians,  makes  repeated  references  to 
himself ;  to  his  labors,  persecutions,  example,  care  of  the  Church ;  and 
again  to  his  own  holy  and  blameless  conduct  (1  Thess.  ii.  10),  humility 
(3  Cor.  iii.  1),  tenderness  (1  Thess.  ii.  2),  consistency  (2  Thess.  iii.  7-9) : 
while  Peter  and  James  and  John,  the  chief  apostles  of  Christ,  make  no 
personal  allusions,  in  their  epistles,  to  their  own  merits  or  doings  or 
sufferings  ?  Had  the  individual  idiosyncrasy  of  the  respective  authors 
nothing  to  do  with  this  ? 

Again :  in  reading  John's  Gospel,  are  we  not  to  make  allowance  for 
the  fact  that  it  was  written  thirty  or  forty  years  later  than  the  others, 
by  an  aged  man  who  had  lived  to  witness  and  participate  iu  scholastic 
controversy  ?  Are  we  to  believe  that  God  inspired  that  author  to  repeat 
four  times  in  his  gospel  (xiii  23;  xix.  29  ;  xx.  2,  and  xxi.  20),  that 
he  himself  was  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  while  neither  of  the 
other  three  evangelists  allude  to  the  fact  at  all  ? 

Then  there  are  the  trivialities,  quite  natural  iu  a  letter  to  an  intimate 
friend,  but  certainly  not  like  divine  dictation.  Was  Paul  inspired  of 
God  when  he  wrote  to  Timothy  (2  Tim.  iv.  13,  and  1  Tim.  v.  23)  to 
bring  him  a  cloak  he  had  left  at  Troas,  and  to  take  a  glass  of  wine  now 
and  then,  because  of  failing  health  ? 

Surely  we  must  discrimiaate.  The  gold  and  silver  come  to  us  from 
the  deep  mine.  Are  we  to  believe  that  the  hay  and  the  stubble  are 
produced  from  the  same  profound  source  ? 

But  this  note  is  already  too  long. 


146  DISPENSING    WITH    AN    INFALLIBLE 

rived  at  an  era  in  which  literalism  is  destroying  faith.  That 
was  foretold  long  ago.     "  The  letter  killeth." 

I  shall  be  told,  of  course,  that  it  is  eminently  dangerous  to 
dispense  with  an  infallible  standard.  I  know  that  many  of  you 
sincerely  believe  this.  But  the  world  is  gradually  reaching  the 
conclusion  that  the  danger  is  precisely  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Science  sets  up  no  infallible  standard  :  if  she  did,  there  would 
be  an  end  to  all  scientific  progress.  But  if  we  separate  theology 
from  the  rest  of  human  studies,  asserting  that  the  rules  which 
prevail  in  other  branches  of  knowledge  have  no  application  in 
this,  the  tendency  is  to  discredit  religion  in  all  philosophic 
minds.  The  assertion  of  infallibility  was  the  worst  enemy  of 
Christianity  in  the  sixteenth  century :  it  is  her  worst  enemy 
still. 

Take  note  of  a  few  of  the  difficulties  thence  arising.  There 
are  numerous  discrepancies,  alike  in  narrative  and  doctrine,  to 
be  found,  as  you  well  know,  between  the  different  gospels. 
These  do  not  at  all  affect  the  substantial  truth  of  the  narrative, 
nor  the  general  scope  and  spirit  of  Christ's  teachings  :  the  pure 
gold — all  that  is  truly  valuable — remains.  And,  rationally 
viewed,  they  afford  evidence  that  there  was  no  collusion  be- 
tween the  evangelists — no  concerted  plan  of  deceit.  So  far, 
then,  they  go  to  prove  the  authenticity  of  the  record.  But  if, 
unwisely  zealous,  you  set  up  the  claim  of  infallibility,  you  lose 
all  this  vantage  ground.  The  slightest  variance  becomes  fatal. 
Such  variances  can  be  adduced,  and  have  often  been  adduced, 
as  proof  that  the  entire  superstructure  is  treacherous,  and 
crumbles  whenever  its  foundations  are  probed. 

Truth  is  ever  strongest  without  artificial  support.  We  ought 
Uot  to  ascribe  to  ourselves  faith — or  any  grade  of  belief  deserv- 
ing the  name  of  faith — in  Christianity,  if  we  do  not  believe 
that,  in  herself,  she  is  mighty  and  will  prevail.  That  was  a 
suggestive  vision  of  Luther's,  in  the  old  fortress  of  Coburg, 
He  wrote  thence  to  Chancellor  Bruek  :  "  I  was  lately  looking 
out  of  a  window  when  I  beheld  a  wondsrful  sight.  I  saw  the 
stars  and  Gcd's  fair  firmament,  but   nowhere  any  pillars  on 


STANDARD    NOT    DANGEROUS.  147 

whi('h  the  Master-builder  had  poised  this  lofty  frame  :  yet  the 
heavens  did  not  fall  in,  and  the  firmament  stood  quite  fast 
But  there  are  some  who  search  for  such  pillars,  and  ^v'ould  anx- 
iously grasp  and  feel  them  ;  and,  because  they  cannot,  fear  and 
tremble  lest  the  heavens  should  fall."  * 

Fears  puerile  as  these  pervaded  men's  minds  in  what  we  are 
wont  to  call  the  olden  time,  but  what  we  ought  to  call  the 
world's  youth,  f  They  believed  that  unless  they  erected  the 
pillars  of  the  InfalKble  and  the  Miraculous,  the  heaven  of  Chris- 
tianity would  fall  in  and  the  world  be  involved  in  heathen  dark- 
ness. If  Christ  were  yet  on  earth,  he  would  address  all  such 
proppers-up  :  "  Oh  ye  of  little  faith !  " 

They  had  this  apology,  however,  that  the  element  of  true 
faith  was  lacking  in  their  day.  As  they  could  not  appreciate 
the  essential  excellence  of  the  system  they  sought  to  prop,  so 
neither  could  they  discern  its  intrinsic  power.  It  is  not  for 
us  to  deny  that  the  pillars  may,  in  the  past,  have  had  theii 
temporary  use. 

For  there  is  a  time  to  every  purpose  under  the  heaven. 
Obedience  is  fitting  in  childhood.  We  cannot  always  give  a 
young  child  the  reasons  for  our  bidding.  He  must  learn  to 
obey,  to  a  certain  extent,  without  reasons.  And  so  it  may 
have  been  in  the  childhood  of  the  world.  The  fiction  of  infal- 
libility, enforcing  blind  assent,  may  have  been  in  place  one  or 
two  thousand  years  ago.  It  is  out  of  date  to-day.  When  we 
become  men,  we  put  away  childish  things. 


Akin  to  the  dogma  of  infallibility  is  the  doctrine  that  God, 
on    certain   occasions,  has  worked  miracles ;  in  other  words, 


*  Luther  :  Brief e^  vol.  iv.  p.  128. 

t  "  And,  to  speak  truly,  Antiguitas  scecidi  juvmtus  mundi.  Thesa 
times  are  the  ancient  times,  when  the  world  is  ancient,  and  not  those 
which  we  account  ancient  ordine  retrogrado,  by  a  computation  backward 
from  ourselve&." — Bacon  ;  Advancetaent  of  Learning^  Book  I. 


14:8  OPINIONS   ON   MIRACLES 

that  he  has  occasionally  suspended,  for  a  time,  the  laws  of  the 
universe,  in  attestation  of  some  divine  truth. 

Having  treated  the  subject  at  large  elsewhere,*  I  shall  noi 
here  reproduce  my  arguments.  This  is  the  less  necessary  be- 
cause not  only  is  the  modern  scientific  world  almost  unani- 
mous in  asserting  the  unbroken  prevalence  of  law,  but 
Protestant  divines  are  gradually  assenting  to  the  view  that 
what  have  been  called  miracles  were  but  the  results  of  laws  not 
known,  or  imperfectly  known,  to  the  witnesses. 

This  (held  in  early  days,  by  some  of  the  ancient  Fathers,  f 
asserted  in  the  last  century  hypothetically  by  Bishop  Butler,  | 
and  more  positively  by  Archbishop  Tillotson  §  and  by  Locke  ||), 
has  been  brought  prominently  forward  in  our  own  day  both  by 
lay  and  ecclesiastical  writers  of  reputation  and  position. 

A  volume  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  on  the  changeless  rule  o/ 

*  Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World,  by  the  author  of  thia 
volume:  Lippincott  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  and  Triibner  &  Co.,  London, 
1860  :  Book  i.  Chap.  3,  pp.  70-91  (of  Amer  Ed.).  In  proof  that  the 
BulDJect  of  ultramundane  phenomena  attracts  public  attention,  it 
may  be  stated  that  this  work,  in  the  United  States  and  in  England,  has 
had  a  circulation  of  about  twenty  thousand  copies. 

f  St.  Augustine  (himself  virtually  a  Spiritualist,  see  next  section,  §  14) 
held  that  a  miracle  was  a  thing  occurring  not  against  nature,  but 
against  what  we  know  of  nature.  "Portendum  ergo  fit,  non  contra 
naturam,  sed  contra  quam  est  nota  natura. " — De  Ciditate  Dei,  lib.  xxi. 
cap.  8.     This  was  written  about  a.d.  420. 

X  Butler:  Analogy  of  Religion,  London,  1809,  part  ii.  chap.  2, 
He  leaves  it  in  doubt  whether  we  ought  "  to  call  everything  in  the  dis- 
pensations of  Providence  not  discoverable  without  Revelation,  nor  like 
the  known  coTurse  of  things,  miraculous." — (p.  194.) 

§  Tillotson:  Sermon  clxxxii.  He  there  says:  "  It  is  not  the  es- 
sence of  a  miracle  (as  many  have  thought)  that  it  te  an  immediate 
i^ect  of  the  Divine  power.  It  is  sufficient  that  it  exceed  any  natural 
power  tha^  we  know  of  to  produce  it." 

I  Locke  :  A  Discourse  on  Miracles.  His  words  are  :  "A  miracle  I 
take  to  be  a  sensible  operation  which,  being  above  the  comprehension 
of  the  spectator  and,  in  his  opinion,  contrary  to  the  established  csourse 
of  nature,  is  taken  by  him  to  be  Divine." 


AND   ON   BEIGN   OF   LAW.  149 

law  *  (reaching  its  fifth  edition  in  fifteen  months),  is  a  note- 
woi-thy  example.  The  ground  there  taken  as  to  miraculous 
suspension  of  law,  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  ex- 
cerpts. 

"  The  idea  of  natural  law,  the  universal  reign  if  a  fixed 
order  of  things,  has  been  casting  out  the  supernatural.  Thi.< 
idea  is  a  product  of  that  immense  development  of  physical  sci- 
ences which  is  characteristic  of  our  times.  We  cannot  read  a 
periodical  or  go  into  a  lecture-room  without  hearing  it  ex- 
pressed. .  .  .  We  can  never  know  what  is  above  nature, 
unless  we  know  all  tbat  is  within  nature.  .  .  .  !N'o  man 
can  have  any  difficulty  in  believing  that  there  are  natural  laws 
of  which  he  is  ignorant.  .  .  .  There  is  nothing  in  religion 
incompatible  with  the  belief  that  all  exercises  of  God's  power, 
whether  ordinary  or  extraordinary,  are  efiected  through  the 
instrumentality  of  natural  laws  brought  out,  as  it  were,  for  a 
Divine  purpose.  .  .  .  Christianity  does  not  call  upon  us 
to  believe  in  any  exception  to  the  universal  prevalence  and 
power  of  law."  f 

Another  example,  as  eminent,  is  to  be  found  in  a  sermon 
preached  before  the  University  of  Oxford,  during  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  promotion  of  science, 
by  the  present  Bishop  of  Exeter.  J     The  Bishop  there  said  : 

"  One  idea  is  now  emerging  into  supremacy  in  science,  a 
supremacy  which  it  never  possessed  before,  and  for  which  it 

*  Argyll  :  TJie  Bdgn  of  Law ;  Strahan  &  Co. ,  London,  1866 ;  re- 
print by  Routledge  &  Sons,  New  York,  1869.  In  the  preface  the  author 
informs  us  that  he  withholds  a  chapter  on  Law  in  Ghristian  TJieology^ 
among  other  reasons,  because  it  is  "  inseparably  connected  with  relig- 
ious controversy."  It  is  matter  of  regret  that  so  acute  a  mind  "  shrank 
from  entering"  (as  the  Duke  himself  expresses  it)  this  important 
field. 

t  "Work  cited  :  pp.  3,  14,  22,  25,  51,  53,  of  American  reprint. 

X  On  Act  Sunday,  July  1,  1860.  The  preacher  was  then  known  as 
the  Eev.  Frederick  Temple,  D.D.,  head-master  of  Rugby  School  and 
Chaplain  in  Ordinary  to  the  Queen  :  still  better,  perhaps,  as  one  of  the 
ieading  authors  of  Essays  and  Reviews. 


150  TEMPLE  AND  BADEN  POWELL. 

still  has  to  fight  a  battle  ;  and  that  is  the  idea  of  law.  Differ 
ent  orders  of  natural  phenomena  have  in  time  past  been  held  to 
be  exempt  from  that  idea,  either  tacitly  or  avowedly.  The 
weather,  the  thunder  and  lightniug,  the  crops  of  the  earth,  the 
progress  of  disease,  whether  over  a  country  or  in  an  individual, 
—these  have  been  considered  as  regulated  by  some  special  in- 
terference. .  .  .  But  the  steady  march  of  science  has  now 
reached  the  point  when  men  are  tempted,  or  rather  compelled, 
to  jump  at  once  to  a  universal  conclusion  :  all  analogy  points 
one  way,  none  another.  And  the  stiident  of  science  is  learning 
to  look  upon  fixed  laws  as  universal.  ...  How  strikingly 
altered  is  our  view  from  that  of  a  few  centuries  ago  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  Bible,  which  once 
were  looked  on  as  the  bulwarks  of  the  faith,  are  now  felt  by 
very  many  to  be  difficulties  in  their  way ;  and  commentators 
endeavor  to  represent  them,  not  as  mere  interferences  with  the 
laws  of  Nature,  but  as  the  natural  action  of  still  higher  laws 
belonging  to  a  world  whose  phenomena  are  only  half  revealed 
to  us."  * 

Still  another  name,  no  less  eminent  in  physical  science  than 
in  sacred  learning,  may  here  be  adduced.  The  late  Baden 
Powell,  in  his  contribution  to  Essays  and  Reviews,  has  this 
passage  :  "  The  modern  turn  of  reasoning  adopts  the  belief  that 
a  revelation  is  then  most  credible,  when  it  appeals  least  to 
violations  of  natural  causes.  Thus,  if  miracles  were,  in  the 
estimation  of  a  foimer  age,  among  the  chief  supports  of  Christi- 
anity, they  are  at  present  among  the  main  difficulties^  and 
hinderances  to  its  acceptance."  "I 

*  This  sermon  will  be  found  in  an  Appendix  to  the  Second  Edition  of 
the  American  reprint  of  "  Essays  and  Reviews,"  which  was  published 
under  the  title  of  Becetit  Inquiries  in  Theology^  Walker,  Wise,  &  Co. ,  Bos- 
ton, 1861. 

The  Westminster  Betiew  says  of  this  volume  :  "  The  social  and  ofl&cial 
position  of  the  authors,  their  learning,  tAeir  abilities,  and  their  sin- 
serity,  courage,  and  earnest,  reverential  spirit,  entitle  them  to  an  un 
prejudiced  and  considerate  hearing." 

f  On  the  Study  of  the  Evideaces  of  Christianity^  by  Baden  Powell, 
M. A. ,  F.Tv.  S. ,  etc. ,  Snvilinn  Professor  of  n,'-r;»r.rt^'Y  ir!  ■Khf>  TTrj^Yoj-sj^  v  of 


INTEENAL   EVmENCE   THE    STEONGEST.  151 

Similar  opinions  show  themselves  in  the  American  ChurchV's, 
and  are  even  heard  from  the  pulpit,  though  chiefly,  it  is  to  be 
admitted,  from  the  pulpit  of  the  more  heterodox  sects.  The 
Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke,  a  representative  of  the  Unitarian 
faith,  says:  "  If  I. considered  the  wonderful  works  of  Jesus  as 
violations  of  law,  I  should  also  say  that  they  were  ess(intially 
incredible."  * 

In  truth,  thoughtful  and  dispassionate  minds,  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  are  reaching  the  conviction  that  the  old  dogma 
of  miraculous  suspension  of  law  is  rapidly  undermining  modern 
faith  in  the  gospels.  It  is  creating,  in  millions  of  souls,  doubt 
or  disbelief  that  the  signs  and  wonders  ascribed  to  Jesus  oc- 
curred at  all.  Renan  is  one  of  the  ablest  exponents  of  this 
latter  opinion.  I  shall  by  and  by  f  lay  before  you  my  reasons 
for  believing  that  this  opinion  of  his  is  false  and  mischievous ; 
yet,  none  the  less,  it  is  spreading  far  and  wide. 

But  the  doctrine  of  the  miraculous  not  only  tends  to  subvert 
faith;  it  contains  also  a  non  sequitur.  It  assumes  that  the 
possessor  of  spiritual  gifts,  in  other  words  the  person  through 
whom  occur  phenomena  which  transcend  our  experience,  is  an 
infallible  teacher  of  morals  and  religion.  Test  this  doctrine. 
Suppose  the  moral  and  spiritual  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  instead 
of  being  the  religion  of  love  and  peace  and  charity  they  are,  to 
have  been  made  up  of  injunctions  to  hate  our  enemies,  to  make 
war  on  our  neighbors,  never  to  forgive  an  ofiending  brother  or 
to  have  mercy  on  a  repentant  sinner ;  to  trust  to  violence  for 
the  civilization  of  the  world,  to  adopt  polygamy,  to  make 
slaves  of  all  men  whose  skins  were  darker  than  ours ;  to  mur- 
der all  men  whose  creed  diiFered  from  our  own :  should  we  still 
believe  in  its  divine  chai-acter,  because  of  signs  and  wonders 
narrated?  If,  as  in  St.  Paul's  case,  a  voice  from  Heaven 
called  to  us ;  and  if  this  voice,  instead  of  arraigning  us  that 

Oxford.     See  Recent  Inquiries  in  Theology^  p.  158.     The  italics  are  in 
the  original. 

*  Steps  of  Belief,  by  J.  F.  Clarke,  Boston,  1870  :  p.  128. 

f  In  the  concluding  sectioD  of  this  address. 


152  OON^IENCE,  WHEN  EDTJOATED,  THE 

we  persecuted  for  opinions'  sake,  commanded  us  to  do  so^ 
would  tjbat  voice  be  to  us  sufficient  warrant  to  reenact  th^ 
horrors  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  ? 

I  know  what  must  be  your  answer :  ISTo  phenomenon,  mun« 
dane  or  ultramundane,  can  make  wilful  murder  a  virtue,  or 
prove  that  we  ought  not  to  do  unto  others  as  we  w^ould  thai 
they  should  do  unto  ns.  We  must  fall  back  at  last,  you  see, 
on  our  inner  sense  of  uprightness  and  justice. 

The  obligation  to  do  good,  the  obligation  to  shun  evil,  cannot 
be  changed  according  to  any  objective  occurrences,  seeming 
ever  so  marvellous,  that  may  be  presented  to  our  senses. 
Right  and  wrong  are  eternal,  and  must  be  judged  by  that  which 
is  eternal  as  themselves.  God  has  provided  for  this.  His 
kingdom  is  within  us.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  infallible 
upon  earth  is  the  still,  small  voice  of  the  human  conscience. 

Do  not  understand  me  as  denying  that  the  highest  character 
of  spiritual  gifts  shoald  attract  our  attention  to  the  doctrines 
with  which  they  are  associated.  A  believer  in  the  value  of 
such  gifts,  I  admit  this.  Yet,  after  all,  our  final  judgment  on 
any  system  of  spiritual  ethics  cannot  rationally  be  made  up 
without  reference  to  its  doctrinal  character  and  its  consistency ; 
and  ought  not  to  be  determined  by  outside  phenomena.  In- 
ternal evidence  of  any  such  system  is  far  superior  to  external ; 
and  nothing  can  properly  be  accepted  as  a  rule  of  action  until  it 
has  been  subjected  to  that  light  within,  which  is  from  God.* 

*  I  have  set  forth  this  argument  elsewhere ;  and  may  be  pardoned  for 
here  reproducing,  from  a  former  work,  a  single  paragraph  : 

"Let  us  suppose  that,  from  some  undeniably  spiritual  source,  as 
through  speech  of  an  apparition  or  by  a  voice  sounding  from  the  upper 
air,  there  should  come  to  us  the  injunction  to  adopt  the  principle  of 
polygamy,  either  as  that  system  is  legally  recognized  in  Turkey,  or  in 
its  unavowed  form,  as  it  appears  in  the  great  cities  of  the  civilized 
world.  In  such  a  case  what  is  to  be  done  ?  The  world  is  God's  work. 
The  experience  of  the  world  is  God's  voice.  Are  we  to  set  aside  thai 
.  experience,  proclaiming  to  us,  as  it  does,  that  under  the  principle  of 
monogamy  alone  have  man's  physical  powers  and  moral  attributes  evei 
maintained  their  ascendency,  whUe  weakness  and  national  decadenc* 


NEAREST   APPEOACH    TO    THE    INFALLIBLE  153 

This  inner  sense,  like  every  other  divine  gift,  can  be  strength- 
ened and  developed.  The  conscience  of  the  world  is  educated 
from  age  to  age.  It  is  more  trustworthy  now  than  it  was  three 
hundred  years  ago ;  it  will  doubtless  be  far  more  trustworthy 
three  hundred  years  hence  than  it  is  to-day  From  generation 
to  generation  it  becomes  more  capable  of  appreciating  the  grand 
truths  of  Christianity  and  of  discarding  the  errors  and  super- 
stitions that  have  overlaid  these,  and  that  have  thus,  in  a  meas- 
ure, covered  up  their  beauty  from  our  sight.  Hence  moral  and 
religious  advancement. 

I  trust  you  will  think  that  I  am  justified  in  deducing,  from  the 
above  considerations,  this  result:  Though  the  Christianity  of 
Orthodoxy,  loaded  down  by  extrinsic  dogmas,  has  failed  by  the 
way,  and  has  seemed,  for  centuries  past,  bereft  of  power  to  ad- 
vance ;  yet  the  temporary  burden  is  likely  soon  to  be  removed. 
And  whenever  it  is,  the  Christianity  of  Jesus  will  be  found  to 
contain  the  element  of  progress,  and  will  gradually  become  the 
religion  of  civilized  men. 

Of  this  we  may  the  more  reasonably  entertain  a  confident 
hope,  seeing  that  while  we  are  discarding  old  burdens,  we  are 
also  obtaining  new  lights  and  fresh  aids.  A  few  words  in  ex- 
planation of  this  last  allegation  shall  conclude  these  remarks — 
remarks  which,  for  some  years  past,  I  have  greatly  desired  to 
lay  before  you. 

follow  in  the  train  of  polygamy,  whether  openly  carried  out,  as  in 
Deseret  and  Constantinople,  or  secretly  practised,  as  in  London  and 
New  York  ?  Are  we  to  give  up  the  certain  for  the  uncertain  ? — the 
teachings  of  God,  through  His  works,  for  the  biddings  of  we  know  not 
whom?  The  f oUy  and  danger  of  so  doing  are  apparent." — FootffaMa^ 
p.  48. 

7* 


154:  LAWS   UNDEELYING   SPIRITUAL   TEACHINGa 


§  14.  Spiritualism  necessary  to  confirm  the  Truths,  and 
assure  the  progress  of  christianity. 

"  The  need  was  never  greater  of  new  revelation  than  now." — Emer- 
son. 

And  now,  Leaders  of  our  Protestant  Church,  if  you  have 
given  me  your  attention  throughout  the  foregoing  preliminary 
matter,  let  me  ask  your  dispassionate  judgment  on  a  subject 
vital  to  religious  advancement,  and  which,  because  I  have  no- 
where found  it  distinctly  stated  or  fully  considered,  I  have 
made  the  staple  of  this  volume.  It  does  not  embrace  discus- 
sion of  disputed  doctrines — we  have  had  enough  of  that — but 
relates  rather  to  a  study  of  the  great  principle  upon  which  doc- 
trines should  be  received — to  the  leges  legum,  as  Bacon  might 
have  phrased  it — to  the  laws  underlying  spiritual  teachings  and 
to  the  manner  in  which  spiritual  researches  should  be  con- 
ducted. 

The  state  of  religious  feeling  in  the  days  of  the  Keformation 
was  peculiar.  The  two  great  divisions  of  the  Christian  Church 
agreed  in  this,  that  the  Scriptures — more  strictly,  perhaps,  the 
books  comprising  the  New  Testament — are  the  foundations  of 
a  just  faith.  The  Koman  Catholic  branch  has  affirmed,  how- 
ever, that  within  its  Church  the  same  inspiration  which  pro- 
duced the  Gospels  and  Epistles  has  continued,  even  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  an  infallible  guide  to  religious  truth;  while  the 
orthodox  part  of  the  Protestant  branch,  repudiating  thh^,  has 
assumed  that  all  inspiration  and  all  spiritual  gifts  and  revela- 
tions similar  to  those  of  Christ's  time,  have  been  withheld  by 
God  from  succeeding  ages. 

It  was  natural  that  the  Reformers,  protesting  against  the  in- 
fallibility of  the  Pope,  should  reject  also  the  claim  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  to  an  exclusive,  divinely-directing  influx, 
emanating  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  they  were  not  satisfied 
t©   deny   the   exclusive   character   of  such   ultramundane   in- 


WHITHER   EENAN   LEADS    U8.  155 

fluence :  for  some  reason,  certainly  not  derived  from  the  G(  epel 
itself  nor  from  patristic  authority,  they  rejected  it  altogether. 

I  think  that,  in  this  matter,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
(aside  from  her  exclusive  pretensions)  and  the  Ancient  Fa- 
thers are  nearer  to  the  truth  than  our  Protestant  Churches  arc. 

The  chief  reason  for  scepticism  in  the  spiiitual  gifts  of  the 
present  day  is  the  idea  that  powers  of  this  character  are  super- 
natural, coupled  with  the  application  to  all  such  modem  phe- 
nomena, of  that  other  idea  put  forth  by  Renan  :  "  Till  we  have 
new  light  we  shall  maintain  the  principle  of  historical  criti- 
cism, that  a  supernatural  relation  cannot  be  accepted  as  such — - 
that  it  always  implies  credulity  or  imposture."  * 

Let  us  beware !  Kenan's  premises  admitted,  there  follow 
logically  his  conclusionSj  cold  and  disheartening  as  they  are. 
Thus  :  The  signs  and  wonders  alleged  to  have  been  wrought 
through  Christ  are  miraculous,  but  we  cannot  accept  the 
miraculous :  therefore  these  signs  and  wonders  did  not  occur 
at  all.  His  explanation  is :  "  Jesus  was  a  thaumaturgist 
against  his  will.  .  .  .  His  reputation  as-  a  mii-acle-worker  was 
imposed  upon  him,  and  he  did  not  resist  it  very  much.  .  .  . 
The  miracles  of  Jesus  were  a  violence  done  him  by  his  time, 
a  concession  which  the  necessity  of  the  hour  wrung  from  him. 
So  the  exorcist  and  the  miracle- worker  have  fallen;  but  the 
religious  reformer  shall  live  forever."  f 

This  author  does  not  seem  to  realize  the  direct  corollary  from 
his  words.  What  reverence,  what  respect  even,  can  we  retain 
for  a  Teacher  who  lends  himself  to  imposture  ? 

But  are  we  reduced  to  this  alternative  ? 

No.     Tlie  signs  and  wonders  may  have  been  phenomena,  of  a 


*  Eenan:  lAfe  of  Jesus  (Wnbour's  translation);  p.  45.  German 
Eationalists  conciir  in  this  view.  "  We  may  summarily  reject  all  mira- 
cles, prophecies,  narratives  of  angels  and  demons,  and  the  like,  as  sim- 
ply impossible  and  irreconcilable  with  the  known  and  imiversal  lawa 
which  govern  the  course  of  events." — Strauss  :  Life  of  Christ,  Introd 

t  Life  ofJe»m;  pp.  235,  236,  338. 


156  THE   PRACTICAL   RESULTS   OF 

spiritual  character  indeed,  but  occurring  under  law.    Tliere  may 
be  intermundane  as  well  as  mundane  laws. 

This  explanation  would  be  more  generally  admitted  (since  ii 
is  evidently  the  height  of  presumption  to  assert  that  we  know 
all  the  laws  of  the  universe),  but  for  a  difficulty  which  occurs 
to  many.  Natural  laws  are  not  only  invariable  but  are  also 
continuous.  The  effects  of  natural  laws  do  not  show  themselves 
for  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  and  then  cease  for  tens  of  centu- 
ries. These  results  may,  indeed,  manifest  themselves  more  pow- 
erfully or  more  frequently  at  one  age  of  the  world  than  another, 
as  a  particular  geological  stratum  may  attain  in  one  locality 
vast  development,  while  in  another  it  shrinks  into  petty  pro- 
portions. But  the  action  of  law  is  perpetual  from  generation 
to  generation,  suffering  no  interregnum. 

Thus,  if  the  extraordinary  manifestations  of  power  ascribed 
iu  tlie  Gospels  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  to  Christ  and  to 
his  disciples  did  occur  under  certain  spiritual  laws,*  the  same 
laws  must  be  m  operation  still :  and  powers  analogous  to  those 
which  resulted  from  these  laws  eighteen  hundred  years  ago 
ought  to  be  traceable  in  history,  and  may  be  confidently  looked 
for  in  our  own  day.  f 

— Analogous  powers  :  not  necessarily  powers  to  the  same  ex- . 
tent ;  yet  powers  exhibiting  sufficient  similarity  to  mark  their 
common  origin.     Observe,  then,  I  pray  you,  how  the  matter 
stands. 

There  are  two  theories,  directly  at  variance.  The  first  is 
that  the  spiritual  gifts  of  the  Apostolic  age  were  isolated  phe- 
nomena, showing  themselves  during  a  single  century  only  of  the 
world's  existence.     If  so,  they  did  not  occur  under  law,  since 

*  That  is,  if  they  did  substantially  occur.  Not  believing  in  human 
infallibility,  I  admit  that  the  biographers,  even  if  spiritually  aided  in 
their  recollections  of  the  past,  were  liable  to  errors  in  detail — to  miscon- 
ception and  mistake ;  as  all  biographers  are. 

f  The  analogous!  case,  noticed  ia  the  Preface  to  this  work,  of  an 
astronomer  predicting  the  existence  of  a  planet,  before  that  planet  had 
been  observed,  will  here,  probably,  suggest  itself  to  the  reader. 


TWO    VARIANT   THEORIES.  157 

all  htiman  experience  is  opposed  to  the  idea  that  God  makeg 
laws,  as  men  might,  to  last  a  hundred  years  and  then  to  be  re- 
pealed :  therefore  they  must  be  regarded  as  miraculous.  But 
if,  in  the  progress  of  science,  the  belief  in  the  miraculous  is 
melting  away,  the  ultimate  result  will  be  disbelief  in  the  alleged 
miracles  of  the  Gospels ;  and  we  shall  fall  back  on  Renan'a 
conclusion  that  Christ  counteuanced  fraud. 

The  second  theory  is  that  there  have  existed  from  all  time 
laws  regulating  intercourse  between  this  world  and  the  next — 
laws  under  which  certain  men  and  women,  more  or  less  favored, 
have  occasionally  exercised  spiritual  powers  and  gifts ;  that 
there  occurred  an  extraordinary  development  of  such  powers  in 
ths  first  century,  of  which  the  effect  was  to  attract  public  at- 
tention to  the  teachings  of  a  system,  the  innate  beauty  and 
moral  grandeur  of  which  were  insuflScient  to  recommend  it  to 
the  semi-barbarism  of  the  day  ;  that  the  existence  of  such  spir- 
itual gifts  is  traceable  throughout  the  history  of  the  last  seven- 
teen hundred  years ;  and,  finally,  that  similar  gifts  and  powers 
show  themselves  among  us  at  the  present  time. 

The  manner  in  which  the  evidences  of  Christianity  are 
affected  by  these  two  theories,  respectively,  is  worthy  your 
special  notice. 

Under  the  first  we  are  driven  to  maintain  the  Koman  Catholic 
and  orthodox  Protestant  belief  in  the  Exceptional  and  the  Mii*- 
aculous.  If,  defeated  by  scientific  progress,  we  fail  to  sustain 
this  dogma,  then  the  wonderful  works  of  Christ  and  his  disci- 
ples take  their  place  beside  the  labors  of  Hercules,  and  other 
tales  of  heathen  mythology.  In  that  case  the  gospel  biography 
of  Christ  must  needs  weaken  the  authority  of  his  doctrines.* 

Under  the  second  theory,  if  history  sustains  it,  and  if  phe- 
nomena occurring  daily  under  our  eyes  confirm  its  truth,  the 
result  is  precisely  the  reverse.     For  in  that  case  we  have  the 

*  Speaking  of  the  miracles  of  Christ,  a  modern  American  divine 
Bays  :  "  If  such  narratives  do  not  stren^hen  our  faith  in  the  religion, 
they  weaken  it.  If  not  proofs  of  its  truth,  they  are  burdens  upon  it.* 
— BuLFiNCH  ;  E'cideRces  of  Christianity^  p.  142. 


lob  THE    \^AST   SECT   OF   THE   INDIFIERENTS. 

evidonce  of  our  senses  in  proof  that  the  marvellous  powers 
ascribed  to  Jesus,  and  the  spiritual  gifts  alleged  to  have  been 
enjoyed  by  his  disciples,  were  natural  and  are  credible  ;  that,  in 
fact,  we  have  no  more  reason  for  rejecting  them  than  for  deny  • 
ing  the  wars  of  Caesar,  or  the  conquests  of  Alexander.  Thus 
the  alleged  spiritual  manifestations  of  our  day^  if  they  prove 
genuine,  become  the  strongest  evidences  to  sustain  the  authenticity 
of  the  gospels. 

There  is  another  view  to  take  of  this  matter.  To  act  upon 
the  ignorance  of  the  first  century  it  needed  works  which  that 
ignorance  looked  upon  as  miracles.  To  act  upon  the  apathy  of 
our  day  it  needs  phenomena  acknowledged  to  be  natural,  yet 
of  an  intermundane  character.  The  need  is  as  great  now  as  it 
ever  was.  When  we  boast  of  our  civilization  as  compared  with 
the  rudeness  of  the  sixteenth  century,  let  us  be  reminded  that 
in  those  days  tens  of  thousands  gave  their  lives  for  their  relig- 
ious opinions,  while  in  these,  men  will  scarcely  give  their  time 
to  think  about  them.  There  are  not,  it  is  true,  many  open 
scofiers  at  religion  among  us — the  age  of  Yoltaire  and  of  Hol- 
bach  is  past — but  there  are  millions  who  belong  to  the  vast  sect 
of  Indifferents.  There  is  but  too  much  truth  in  what  one 
of  the  acutest  minds  of  our  own  country  declared,  when  ad- 
dressing the  senior  class  in  the  Divinity  School  of  Harvard 
College  in  Cambridge : 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  say  to  you  that  the  need  was  never  greater 
of  new  revelation  than  now.  From  the  views  I  have  already 
expressed,  you  will  infer  the  sad  conviction  which  I  have,  I 
believe,  with  numbers,  of  the  universal  decay,  and  now  almost 
death,  of  faith  in  society.  The  soul  is  not  preached.  The 
Church  seems  to  to  tter  to  its  fall,  almost  all  life  extinct.  .  .  . 
I  think  no  man  can  go  with  his  thoughts  about  him,  into  one 
of  our  churches,  without  feeling  that  what  hold  the  public  wor- 
ship had  on  men  is  gone,  or  going.  It  has  lost  its  grasp  on  the 
affection  of  the  good  and  tbe  fear  of  the  bad.* 

*  Emerson  :  Miscellanies^  Boston,  1856.  Bishop  Butler  bears  simi- 
lar testimony  in  his  day.    In  the  Advertisement  to  his  Analogy  of  BMg- 


ADMISSIONS    OF   A   SCEPTIC.  159 

Here  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  better  class  of  scep- 
Mcs,  in  our  daj,  regret  their  own  lack  of  faith.  An  English 
author  of  a  careful  and  critical  inquiry  into  the  origin  oi 
Chiistiiinity  is  a  type  of  this  class.  He  speaks  of  Christ  and 
the  ethical  system  he  taught  with  reverence  ;  but  reaches  the 
conclusion  that  the  historical  evidence  for  miracles  and  a 
Divine  mission  is  insufficient.  One  sees  that  he  deplores  the 
conviction  to  which  his  reason  had  brought  him ;  for  in  his  con- 
cluding reflections  he  says  : 

*'  It  is  impossible  to  disguise  the  momentous  consequences  of 
the  rejection  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity— that  a  future 
state  is  thereby  rendered  a  matter  of  speculation  instead  of 
certainty.  If  Jesus  was  not  seen  after  he  was  risen,  we  no 
longer  see  immortality  brought  to  light:  the  veil  which  Nature 
has  left  before  this  mysterious  matter  still  remains  undrawn. 
.  .  .  With  respect  to  one  of  the  subjects  most  interesting 
to  man  we  return  into  the  position  in  which  the  whole  race 
stood  for  four  thousand  years,  and  in  which  a  great  part  has  re- 
mained ever  since." 

Again :  "  Whilst  it  was  thought  that  Jesus  had  brought  the 
guarantee  of  Heaven  for  man's  immortality,  we  persuaded  our- 
ion  (A.D.  1736),  he  says:  "It  has  come,  I  know  not  how,  to  be  taken 
for  granted  by  many  persons,  that  Christianity  is  not  so  much  as  a  sub- 
ject of  inquiry ;  but  that  it  is  now  at  length  discovered  to  be  fictitious. 
And,  accordingly,  they  treat  it  as  if,  in  the  present  age,  this  were  an 
agreed  point  among  all  people  of  discernment." 

Strong  evidence  of  the  indifference  evinced  at  the  present  day  in  Eng- 
land to  established  forms  of  rehgion  is  to  be  found  in  the  'Enghsh 
Census  of  1851.'  That  document  informs  us  that  while  at  that  time 
there  were  in  England  and  Wales  church-buildings  cdpable  of  seating 
ten  mmions  two  hundred  th/yusand  persons,  it  was  ascertained  by  actual 
enumeration  that  the  attendance  (averagmg  morning,  afternoon,  and 
evening  services)  was  but  three  millions  six  hundred  and  thirty-two  tJwu- 
§and  (3,632,022).  In  other  words,  each  clergyman  preached,  on  the 
average,  to  a  congregation  which  fiUed  little  more  than  one-third  of  the 
seats.  ^  And,  strange  to  say  !  the  smaUest  average  attendance  was  found 
to  be  in  the  churches  in  which  the  seats  were  free. 
Further  details  from  this  census  wUl  be  found  in  the  body  of  this  work. 


IGO      SIMPLE  DEISM  TJNGENIAL  AND   UNSATISFAOTOEY. 

selves}  that  this  was  necessary  to  man's  improvement  and  happi 
ness.  We  were  mistaken ;  no  such  guarantee  has  been  given  j 
it  is  wise  to  acquiesce  and  to  conclude  that  happiness  and  im 
provement  are  best  promoted  by  our  present  ignorance.  .  .  . 
The  withdrawal  into  obscure  remoteness  of  the  future  eternal 
life  may  leave  men  more  free  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of 
tlieir  present  sphere.  .  .  .  Yet  it  must  be  owned  that  there 
are  states  in  which  all  siich  reasonings  are  felt  to  be  insipid, 
and  in  which  the  human  mind  feels  a  deeper  want."  * 

Finally  this  author  seeks  comfort  by  "  indulging  the  thought 
that  a  time  is  appointed  when  the  cravings  of  the  heart  and  of 
the  intellect  will  be  satisfied,  and  the  enigma  of  our  own  and 
the  world's  existence  be  solved."  f 

These  remarks  undoubtedly  present  the  frame  of  mind  pre- 
vailing among  a  large  proportion  of  intelligent  sceptics ;  espe- 
cially among  leading  scientific  men.  Simple  theism^  shut  out 
from  the  cheering  warmth  of  spiritual  revealings,  is  ungenicA 
and  unsatisfactory. 

All  this,  I  admit,  does  not  make  out  my  case.  As  men 
knowing  the  world,  you  will  doubtless  concede  the  danger  from 
that  easy-going  scepticism  which  "  hopes  it  may  all  come  out 
right,  and  that,  iq  the  Unknown  Dark,  we  may  find  something 
good  in  store  for  us."  You  may  further  admit  the  vast  impor- 
tance it  would  be  to  Christianity  if  God  would  give  to  His 

*  As  witness  the  tone  of  deep  sadness  which,  especially  in  poetia 
temperaments,  pervades  the  thoughtful  hours  of  those  who  find  nothing 
fairer  to  bound  this  checkered  earth-life — no  more  auspicious  prospecl 
in  the  Great  Future — than  the  dreary  vacancy  of  dreamless  sleep. 
"  The  cloud-shadows  of  midnight  possess  their  own  repose, 

For  the  weary  winds  are  silent  and  the  moon  is  in  the  deep ; 
Some  respite  to  its  turbulence  unresting  Ocean  knows ; 

Whatever  moves,  or  toils,  or  grieves,  hath  its  appointed  sleep. 
Thou  in  the  grave  shalt  rest — " 

Shelley:  Stanzas^  April,  1814. 
f  Hennell  :    An  Inquiry  concerning  tlie  Origin  of  Christianity , 
London,  2d  Ed.,  1841  :  pp.  481,  483,  485,  489. 


CESSATION  OF   SPIEITUAL   GIFTS?  161 

creatures  of  to-day  the  species  of  evidence  which  He  did  not 
refuse  to  the  incredulous  Thomas.  But  you  will  remind  ma 
that  to  make  out  the  importance,  or  the  apparent  necessity,  of 
a  thing  is  not  to  demonstrate  its  existence. 

The  consciousness  of  this  gave  rise  to  the  present  volume 
To  the  body  of  the  work  I  refer  you  for  direct  evidence  that 
immortality  is  brought  to  light  now,  among  us^ — that  the  apos- 
tolic gifts  are  reproduced  at  this  day  and  are  not  restricted  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Meanwhile  a  few  words  touching 
the  historical  testimony  in  the  case  may  be  of  service. 

We  must  refuse  to  the  Old  Testament  not  only  all  claim  to 
inspiration,  in  any  sense,  but  also  all  credence  as  ancient  his- 
tory, if  we  deny  that,  from  the  earliest  ages,  the  two  worlds 
have  been,  from  time  to  time,  in  commurdcation.  Cut  from  its 
pages  all  that  relates  to  such  intercommunion ;  and  there  would 
remain,  of  its  narrative,  but  a  Kfeless  and  unintelligible  residue. 

As  to  the  'New  Testament,  we  find  neither  in  gospels  nor 
epistles,  a  word  to  indicate  the  cessation,  in  the  future,  of 
spiritual  gifts :  so  far  as  there  is  expression  on  the  subject,  it 
sustains  the  belief  in  their  indefinite  continuance. 

Take  a  few  examples  : 

Christ,  when  he  appeared  after  death  to  the  eleven,  said : 
**  These  signs  shall  follow  them  that  believe.  In  my  nam*? 
shall  they  cast  out  devils ;  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues. 
.  .  .  They  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick  and  they  shall  recover."  * 
Again,  m  the  immediate  prospect  of  death,  Jesus  said :  "  He 
that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also  ;  and 
greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do."  f 

No  limitation  as  to  time,  observe ;  not  co  the  apostles  then 
living,  nor  to  the  disciples  of  that  day,  are  these  promises  re- 

*  Mark  xvi.  17.  18.  Some  commentators  have  cast  doubts  on  the 
authenticity  of  the  closing  verses  of  Mark's  Gospel  (xvi.  9-19) ;  but 
these  verses  are  quoted,  without  question,  by  Irenaeus  (iii.  10,  6),  ar« 
found  in  three  out  of  four  of  the  uncial  manuscripts  and  have  uni- 
formly been  retained  in  the  Canon, 
f  John  xir.  13. 


ICli  CHRIST  DOES   NOT   SPEAK   OF  MIBAOLEB. 

stricted :  notliing  to  sliow  tliat  they  do  not  extend  to  all  wli« 
shall  believe  in  his  teachings,  "  even  to  the  end  of  the  world;' 
♦IS  in  another  promise  of  spiritual  aid  he  expressed  it. 

Nor  wei'e  such  powers,  even  at  that  day,  exclusive.  The 
seventy  enjoyed  them.*  And  when  the  disciples  saw  a  certain 
man  who  followed  them  not,  casting  out  devils  in  Christ's  name 
and  forbade  him,  Jesus  reproved  them,  saying :  "  Forbid  him 
not :  for  there  is  no  man  that  shall  do  a  miracle  f  in  my  name 

*  Luke  X.  17. 

f  In  prosecuting  such  an  inquiry  as  the  present,  the  student  is  con- 
Btantly  reminded  of  the  urgent  necessity  for  a  modem  revision,  at  least 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  word  above  translated  miracle^  is  du- 
namin,  accusative  of  dunamu^  which,  in  the  best  lexicons,  we  find  inter- 
preted :  "potency,  power,  faculty,  efficacy."  We  do  not  say  "  do  a 
power,"  or  that  would  have  been  the  literal  translation.  The  true 
meaning  is,  undoubtedly,  "  exercise  a  power  "  or  "  gift;"  and  withal  a 
spiritual  gift  or  power,  such  as  Christ  himself  possessed.  King  James' 
translators  believed  spiritual  gifts  to  be  miraculous  ;  and  so  they  here 
make  Christ  declare  them  to  be  miracles,  without  the  slightest  author- 
ity, in  the  Greek  text,  for  doing  so. 

In  the  Gospels  dunamis  is,  twice  at  least,  translated  mrtue,  as  we 
sometimes  use  the  word  in  the  sense  of  energy,  physical  or  moral. 
Speaking  of  Jesus  healing  the  sick,  Luke  (vi.  19)  says:  "  The  whole 
multitude  sought  to  touch  him,  for  there  went  virtue  {dunamis)  out  of 
him,  and  healed  them  all. "  Think  of  saying  ' '  there  went  miracle  out  of 
him  "  !  And  again  (Mark  v.  30),  when  Jesus  was  touched  by  the  woman 
who  was  cured  of  an  issue  of  blood,  he  felt  (so  the  translation  reads) 
"that  virtue  (dunamis)  had  gone  out  of  him."  Jesus,  it  appears,  was 
physically  conscious  of  this  wonderful  power.  But  when  the  attribute 
of  the  miraculous  is  ascribed,  it  is  by  sheer  assumption ;  prompted, 
probably,  by  the  thira  ijistruction  given  by  King  James  to  his  transla- 
tors.    (See  preceding  page  125. ) 

To  the  spirit  of  the  same  instruction  it  is  doubtless  due  that,  in  one 
passage  at  least,  the  word  miracle  is  arbitrarily  supplemented,  where 
there  is  no  corresponding  word  whatever  in  the  Greek  text.  It  will  be 
found  at  Mark  vi.  52.  ^*  For  they  considered  not  the  miracle  of  the 
loaves ;  for  their  heart  was  hardened."  The  literal  translation  ia  "  foi 
they  thought  not  of  the  loaves:"  the  words  "  the  miracle  "  being  purely 
gratuitous.     This  and  similar  errors  are  corrected  in  Griesbach's  text. 


Christ's  teacpiixgs  not  a  finality.  103 

that  can  lightly  speak  evil  of  me  :  he  that  is  not  against  us  ia 
ol'  our  part."  * 

More  striking  still  is  this :  At  the  very  close  of  Christ's 
ministry  on  earth,  just  before  he  crossed  the  brook  Cedron  into 
the  garden  where  he  was  betrayed,  he  said  to  his  apostles :  "  I 
have  yet  many  things  to  say  to  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them 
now.  Howbeit  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth  ;  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself,  but 
whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak."  f 

May  not  this  be  fairly  construed  as  a  promise  of  spiiitual 
progress ;  an  assurance  of  constant  advance  by  the  aid  of  the 
spirit  of  truth — medium  of  perennial  revelation  between  Heaven 
and  earth  ?  Is  it  not  a  declaration,  too,  that  Jesus'  own  teach- 
ings, while  here,  were  not  a  finality ;  neither,  indeed,  could  be ; 
seeing  that  even  the  Twelve  he  had  selected  and  taught  through- 
out three  years  were  not  prepared  to  receive  what  yet  remained 
to  be  said?  The  Christian  world  has  strangely  overlooked 
this  text  and  the  fair  corollaries  therefrom.  J 

The  Acts  are  filled  with  passages  in  proof  of  the  continuance, 
throughout  the  Apostolic  age,  of  spiritual  powers  and  gifts. 
There  came  a  multitude  bringing  sick  folks  to  the  Apostles, 
"  and  they  were  healed  every  one."  §  "  By  the  hands  of  the 
Apostles  were  many  signs  and  wonders  wi'ought  among  the 
people."  II  "  Stephen,  full  of  faith  and  power,  did  great  won- 
ders and  miracles  (dunameos)  among  the  people."  ^  "  Special 
miracles "  (dunameis)  were  \v^'ought  through  Paul.  **  Peter 
raised  Dorcas  f  |  and  Eutichus  JJ  from  the  dead.     A  certain 

*  Mark  ix.  39, 40. 

f  John  xvi.  12,  13.  There  are  many  similar  promises,  where  this 
spirit  is  called  the  Comforter ;  as  John  xv.  26 ;  xiv.  2Q  ;  xvi.  7. 

t  It  is  a  mere  assertion,  unwarranted  by  Scripture,  that  these  prom- 
ises were  restricted  to  the  writers  of  the  gospels  and  epistles,  eight 
only  in  niunber :  or,  as  others  would  have  it,  to  the  Seven  Churclies  and 
during  the  apostohc  age  alone. 

§  Acts  V.  16.  J  Acts  V.  12.  1"  Acts  vi  8. 

**  Acts  xix.  11,  12.         ft  Acts  ix.  37,  40,  41.    J  Acts  xx.  9,  10, 12, 


164  SPmiTUAL   GIFTS   DESIEABLE. 

man  (Philip,  the  evangelist)  **  had  four  daughters  that  did 
prophesy."  *     And  so  on. 

To  all  the  disciples,  soon  after  Christ's  death,  camp,  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  the  gift  of  tongues.f  The  same  gift  appearrd 
among  the  Gentiles  also.  J 

But  as  to  spiritual  gifts,  various  in  character,  Paul's  testi- 
mony is  the  most  distinct  and  comprehensive.  He  declares 
that,  in  the  churches,  then  including  numerous  converts,  there 
are  diversities  of  gifts  ;  besides  the  words  of  faith  and  wisdom, 
he  enumerates  the  gifts  of  healing,  working  of  miracles 
(dunameon),  prophecy,  discerning  of  spirits,  divers  kinds  of 
tongues. §  He  himself  rejoices  in  the  possession  of  such  gifts,  || 
and,  in  the  same  text  in  which  he  enjoins  cliarity,  he  bids  us 
desire  spiritual  gifts,  especially  the  gift  of  prophecy.  ^  To  deny 
that  this  last  behest  is  addressed  to  us  is  virtually  to  assert  that 
all  the  precepts  contained  in  Paul's  epistles  were  intended  for 
the  Seven  Churches  only,  and  have  no  application  to  the  pres- 
ent generation  of  men.  Paul's  express  words  are  :  "  There  are 
diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  spirit.  But  the  manifestation 
of  the  spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal."  ** 

Passing  on  from  the  first  century  and  coming  upon  the  Eccle- 
siastical, or  Patristic  "  miracles,"  we  enter  au  oft-trodden  field, 
familiar  to  those  who  have  followed  an  English  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  writing  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  through  a 
celebrated  "  Inquiry  "  into  that  subject.  \\  I  think  a  dispassion- 
ate student  rises  from  the  perusal  of  Middleton's  book,  and  of 
the  best  modern  commentaries  thereon,  with  the  conviction 

*  Acts  xxi.  9.  f  Acts  ii.  1-4.  %  Acts  x.  45,  46. 

§  1  Corinthians  xii.  4-11  and  28-30.  But  read  the  whole  of  chapters 
sdi.  and  xiv.,  in  proof  of  the  great  importance  which  Paul  attached 
to  that  matter. 

3  1  Corinthians  xiv.  18.  T[  1  Corinthians  xiv.  1,  and  xii.  31. 

**  1  CoriutMans  xii.  4,  7. 

f  f  MroDLETON  :  Free  Inquiry  into  the  Miraculous  Powers  which  are 
rupposed  to  Tiave  subsisted  in  the  Christian  Church  from,  the  Earliest 
Ages.     London,  1749. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    "  MIRACLES."  1£)Z 

that  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  Fathers  for  the  alleged 
spiritual  gifts  of  the  early  centuries  are  inadequate  evidence  ol 
these,  as  miracles,  but  all-sufficient  proof  to  establish  (in  a  gen- 
eral Wtty)  their  occurrence,  if  we  regard  them  as  natural  phe- 
uomena.     To  that  testimony  I  can  but  briefly  advert. 

Irenseus  (a  pupil  of  Papias  and  of  Polycarp,  both  of  whcro 
sat  under  the  teachings  of  St.  John)  was  Bishop  of  Lyons  a.d. 
177.  We  have  but  fragments  of  his  works ;  but  he  is  quoted  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  by  Eusebius  (writing  a.d.  325), 
who  says,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  thcit  Irenseus  "  shows 
that  even  down  to  his  times,  instances  of  divine  and  miraculous 
jjower  were  remaining."  He  quotes  textually  from  Irenasus, 
thus:  "Some  most  certainly  and  truly  cast  out  devils.  .  .  . 
Others  have  the  knowledge  of  things  to  come,  as  also  visions 
and  prophetic  communications;  others  heal  the  sick  by  imposi- 
tion of  hands,  and  restore  them  to  health.  .  .  .  Even  the 
dead  have  been  raised  and  have  continued  with  us  many  years. 
.  .  .  It  is  impossible  to  tell  the  number  of  gifts  which  the 
chuich  throughout  the  world  has  received  from  God."  * 

To  the  same  effect  testify  Justin  Martyr  f  and  Theophilus, 
Bishop  of  Antioch,  both  contemporary  with  Irenseus ;  TertuUian, 
flourishing  toward  the  close  of  the  second  century ;  Origen  and 
Minutius  Felix,  in  the  beginning  of  the  third  century ;  and 
Cyprian,  pupil  of  TertuUian,  about  the  middle  of  the  same. 
Arnobius  and  his  disciple  Lactantius,  writing  in  the  fourth 
century,  may  be  added  to  the  list.  J 


*  Eusebius:  Ecdedasticol  History^  book  v.,  chap.  7.  He  states 
that  the  extracts  are  taken  from  the  second  book  of  Irenaeus'  Refuta- 
tion and  Overthrow  of  False  Doctrine  ("Ad  versus  Haereses"). 

f  "  Justin  Martyr,  who  is  supposed  to  have  written  his  first  Apology 
within  fifty  years  after  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  says  :  "  There  are  pro- 
phetical gifts  among  us  to  this  day,  and  both  men  and  women  endowed 
with  extraordinary  powers  by  the  Spirit  of  God." — Quoted  by  Dr.  Mn> 
DLETON,  in  his  Free  Inquiry,  p.  10. 

X  See  Middleton's  Inquiry,  pp.  11-19  ;  where  are  given  extracts 
from  the  writings  of  each,  with  references  to  the  original  authoritiea 


166  PATKISTIC    POWERS   AND   GIFTS 

St.  Augustine,  whom  Calvin  and  Luther  copied  so  closely, 
and  who  was  Bishop  of  Hippo  a.d.  3i)5,  may  be  called  the 
Spiritualist  of  liis  age.  In  his  celebrated  City  of  God  he  has 
a  long  chapter  filled  with  minute  details  of  numerous  miracles 
wrought  in  his  day.  At  the  outset  he  says :  "  They  ask  me, 
*  Why  do  the  miracles  which,  as  you  say,  were  performed  in 
former  times,  not  occur  to-day?'"  And  his  reply  is:  "At 
this  very  day  a  multitude  of  miracles  do  occur ;  the  same  God 
who  caused  the  signs  and  wonders  which  we  read  of,  works 
similar  prodigies  still  by  such  persons  as  He  sees  fit  to  select." 
He  attests,  as  having  happened  under  his  own  eye,  most  of  the 
miracles  which  he  relates,  and  says  that,  did  sj^ace  permit,  he 
could  add  many  more  of  his  own  knowledge.* 

Of  another  St.  Augustin,  the  apostle  of  the  English,  who 
landed  in  Great  Britain  a.d.  596 — who  became  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  and  is  said  to  have  baptized  ten  thousand  per- 
sons in  a  single  day — we  read  that  he  had  the  reputation  of 
miraculous  powers  in  the  restoration  of  sight  and  even  of  life. 

I  might  go  on  to  speak  of  the  St.  Gregory  of  the  third  century 
(surnamed  Thaumaturgus  from  his  wonderful  powers),  of  St. 
Martin,  and  many  others  deemed  equally  gifted ;  and  I  might 
add  abundant  proof  that  the  faithful  Roman  Catholic  continues 
to  believe  in  the  reality  of  Ecclesiastical  miracles  up  to  the 
present  day.     But  it  needs  not  further  particulars. 

Middleton  discredits  these  patristic  powers  and  gifts,  con- 
cluding that  "  they  were  all  contrived,  or  authorized  at  least, 
by  the  leading  men  of  the  Church  for  the  sake  of  governing 
with  more  ease  the  unruly  spirit  of  the  populace."  f  For  this 
scepticism  his  chief  motive  seems  to  be  that  "  the  belief  and 
defence  of  these  miracles  .  .  .  gives  countenance  to  the 
modern  impostures  of  the  Catholic  Church."  \     He  takes  pains 

Speaking  of  the  gift  of  tongues,  Middleton  says :  "  If  the  testimony  of 
Irengetis  can  be  credited,  many  were  endowed  with  it  ia  his  days,  and 
heard  to  speak  aU  kinds  of  languages  in  the  Church." — Inquiry-  p.  117. 

*  City  of  God  ("  De  Civitate  Dei")  t  ?ok  xxii.,  chap,  8. 

•|  Inquiry,  p.  109.  :{: /»gm?^,  p.  176. 


DISCREDITED   BY   PEOTESTANTS.  1G7 

to  remind  us  "  how  naturally  the  allowance  of  these  powers  io 
the  earlier  ages  will  engage  us,  if  we  are  consistent  with  our- 
selves, to  allow  the  same  also  to  the  later  ages ; "  *  evidentl}^ 
looking  not  so  much  to  the  amount  of  evidence  that  can  be  found 
for  the  alleged  facts,  as  to  the  theological  results  of  admitting 
their  truth. 

So  also  Bishop  Douglas,  who  in  his  Criterion,  assuming  to 
ijliow  how  "  the  true  miracles  recorded  in  the  New  Testament 
ara  distinguished  from  the  spurious  miracles  of  Pagans  and 
Papists,"  f  concludes  that  we  are  warranted  in  rejecting  the 
Ipctter — that  is,  the  Ecclesiastical  miracles — "  as  idle  tales  that 
never  happened,  and  the  inventions  of  bold  and  interested 
deceivers."  J 

Protestants  generally,  except  those  who  evince  Puseyite  pro- 
clivities, §  take  the  same  ground.  Locke,  doubtless  correctly, 
states  the  chief  prompting  motive :  "  I  think  it  is  evident  that 
he  who  will  build  his  faith  or  reasonings  upon  miracles  deliv- 
ered by  Church  historians,  will  find  cause  to  go  no  farther 
than  the  Apostles'  time,  or  else  not  to  stop  at  Constantine's."  || 

But  this  Protestant  scepticism  leads  far.  The  more  sweep- 
ing among  the  arguments  employed  against  "  Papist  miracles  " 

*  Preface  to  Inquiry,  p.  xix. 

f  Douglas  (Bishop  of  Carlisle) :  Criterion  by  which  the  true  Mirades^ 
etc.  (as  above)  1754.  See  title-page.  This  is  virtually  a  reply  to 
Hume's  celebrated  argument. 

X  Criterion,  p.  26. 

§  As  John  Henry  Newman,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Mirades  recorded  in 
the  EcdesiasUc  History  of  the  Early  Ages,  Oxford,  1843.  This  was 
written  while  he  was  still  a  Protestant.  The  gist  of  his  argument  is  : 
"  If  our  Lord  is  with  his  disciples  '  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world;'  if  he  promised  his  Holy  Spirit  to  be  to  them  what  he  himself 
was  when  visibly  present,  and  if  miracles  were  one  special  token  of  hia 
presence  when  on  earth  ;  .  .  .  surely  we  have  no  cause  to  be  sur- 
frised  at  hearing  supernatural  events  reported  in  any  age." — p.  78. 

This  may  savor  of  Roman  Catholicism ;  but  it  savors  equally  of  lojj^ 
iral  inference. 

il  Locke  :    Third  Letter  on  Toleration,  c.  x.  p.  2G9. 


i6S  COUNTERFEITS   AMONG   GENUINE  COUC. 

by  such  writers  as  Middleton  and  Douglas  will  be  ttdmitfed, 
by  dispassionate  readers,  to  be  equally  valid  against  the  "signs 
and  wonders  "  of  the  Gospels  and  the  "  spiritual  gifts"  of  St. 
Paul. 

I  speak  here  of  wholesale  arguments.  It  is  to  be  admitted, 
of  course,  that  many  of  the  narratives  coming  to  us  from  pa- 
tristic times  are  apocryphal,  and  others  obviously  obscured 
by  superstition.  Where  there  is  genuine  coin  there  also  will 
coun -erfeits  be  found.*  To  St.  Anthony,  a  stout  believer  in 
the  Ilevil,  Satan  (according  to  his  biographer)  appeared,  usu- 
ally as  "  a  spirit  very  tall  with  a  great  show,"  "  who  vanished  at 
the  Saviour's  name  ;  it  burnt  him,  and  he  could  not  bear  it ;  " 
with  other  similar  tales,  f 

It  is  to  be  admitted,  further,  that  some  of  these  early  eccles- 
iastii  al  gifts,  unlike  those  of  Christ's  day,  were  often  com- 
mitt(  ;d,  not  to  the  principal  champions  of  the  Christian  cause,  but 
"  to  boys,  to  women,  and  above  all  to  private  and  obscure  lay- 
men not  only  of  an  inferior  but  sometimes  also  of  a  bad  charac- 
ter." J  This  only  proves,  however,  that  they  were  in  a  measure 
dep<mdent,  like  magnetic  power,  on  certain  physical  conditions. 
The  modern  examples  among  us  confirm  this.  Nevertheless, 
the  highest  order  of  spiritual  gifts  appear  to  attach  themselves 
only  tq.; those  who  are,  in  a  correspondent  degree,  morally  and 
spiritually  elevated.  Hence,  doubtless,  the  unexampled  pre- 
eminence of  Christ's  powei*s. 

To  arrive  at  any  just  conclusion  on  such  a  subject  we  must 
examine  and  test  each  narrative  on  its  separate  merits.  It  is 
A  question  to  be  determined,  as  the  fall  of  aerolites  has  been, 
by  facts,  not  by  closet  speculations.     Even  IVIiddleton  admits 


*  Matthew  xxiv.  24 ;  Mark  xiii.  22 — "  they  shall  seduce  the  very 
elect." 

f  St.  Athanasius:  Life  of  St.  Anthony  ;  passim. 

:f  MrrDLETON :  Inquiry^  p.  25.  But  as  to  women,  it  is  certain  that 
spiritual  gifts  attached  to  both  sexes  in  Christ's  day.  See  Acta  xxi 
9;  ii.  17,  18 ;  and  xvi.  16,  17. 


REVELATION   THE   ORIGIN   OF   RELIGIONS.  169 

that  "tlie  testimony  of  facts  may  properly  be  called  the  testi- 
mony of  God  himself."  * 

It  was  after  a  careful  examination  of  this  testimony,  as  it  is 
found  among  us,  that  the  narratives  which  follow  were  written. 
There  you  will  find  my  reasons  for  the  conviction  that  God  has 
not  left  us  without  present  witness  touching  the  great  truths 
of  our  religion ;  that  we,  like  the  Apostles  wlien  tbey  beheld 
the  risen  Christ,  may  see  immortality  brought  to  light;  that 
the  "  Spirit  of  truth,"  to-day  as  of  yore,  is  present  "  to  guide 
us  into  all  truth  ; "  becoming  the  medium  between  spirits  in 
the  next  world  and  men  in  this. 

I  believe  that  this  spirit  (divulging  what  reason  tests  and 
accepts  but  could  not  have  originated)  has  been  the  oiigin  of  all 
religions.  This  was  Bishop  Butler's  opinion,  thus  expressed : 
"  There  does  not  appear  the  least  intimation  in  history  or  tra- 
dition, that  religion  was  first  reasoned  out :  but  the  whole  of 
history  or  tradition  makes  for  the  other  side,  that  it  came  into 
the  world  by  revelation.  Indeed  the  state  of  religion  in  the 
first  ages  of  which  we  have  any  account  seems  to  suppose  and 
imply  that  this  was  the  original  of  it  among  mankind."  | 

But  if  revelation  be  the  origin  of  all  human  religions,  it  can- 
not be  a  phenomenon  restricted  to  a  single  century,  or  showing 
itself  up  to  a  certain  period  of  man's  history,  and  then  disappear- 
ing, to  be  seen  no  more.  It  must  be  a  guiding  influence  for 
all  time  ;  a  permanent  element  of  civilization  and  of  spiritual 
progress ;  as  essential  to  vital  religion  among  us  who  live  now 
as  it  was  to  the  Jews  of  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 

To  deny  that  this  revelation  comes  from  God  is  to  deny  that 
the  Book  of  Nature  has  God  for  its  author.  But  like  every- 
thing else  in  this  world,  it  comes  to  us  mediately  not  directly , 
from  Him  :  and  so  only  must  we  receive  it.  Thus  it  aids  Reason, 
not  dethrones  it :  it  appeals  to  Conscience,  not  coerces  it.  If 
everything  that  claims  to  be  revelation  were  to  be  accepted  as 
such,  we  should   have  to    admit  the  whole  Koran.     Because 

*  Inquiry,  p.  10. 
t  Analogy  of  Rdiffion  (lid.  of  1809),  pp.  195,  196. 
8 


170  SPIRITUALISM    ACCORDS    WMH    CHRISTIANITY. 

men,  by  God's  universal  law,  are  fallible,  and  because  the 
holiest  truths  reach  us  only  through  fallible  men,  Reason  and 
Conscience,  God-given  guides,  must  sit  in  judgment  on  all  al- 
leged revelations — humbly,  reverently  indeed,  but  fearlessly 
also  ;  for  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear.  *  A  captious  spirit  is 
especially  out  of  place  in  such  connection ;  yet  it  is  our  right, 
and  cur  bounden  duty,  to  prove  all  things,  spiritual  preten- 
sions included. 

If  the  general  view  I  have  here  offered  you  of  this  subject 
be  correct,  then  it  will  not  suffer  denial  that,  as  clergy,  most 
of  you  have  hitherto  too  much  restricted  the  circle  of  your 
duties.  Overlooking  what  Christ  said  about  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
which  was  to  teach  men,  after  his  death,  what  he  had  left  un- 
taught, you  have  omitted  to  inquire  whether  there  is  a  present 
icvelation ;  and,  if  so,  how  far  it  is  trustworthy — what  are  ita 
character  and  claims.  If,  as  Middle  ton  said  of  spiritual  gifts 
coming  to  light  in  earlier  ages,  these  are  still  sometimes  com- 
mitted to  children  and  to  persons  of  indifferent  character,  this 
makes  more  imperative  the  duty  to  sift  and  to  discriminate. 

Many  of  your  number  are,  probably,  deterred  from  entering; 
on  this  task  by  the  idea  that  the  (alleged)  phase  of  modern 
revelation  is  anti-Christian  in  tendency.  If,  after  a  varied  ex- 
perience of  sixteen  years  in  different  countries  I  am  entitled  to 
offer  an  opinion,  it  is,  that  if  such  spiritual  communications 
be  sought  in  an  earnest,  becoming  spirit,  the  views  presented 
will,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  be  in  strict  accordance  with 
the  teachings  of  Christ,  such  as  we  may  reasonably  conceive 
therse  to  have  been  from  the  testimony  of  his  evangelical  biog- 
raph(u-s.  They  touch  upon  many  things,  indeed,  which  he 
left  untouched ;  but  the  spirit  is  absolutely  identical.  They 
bj'.^athe  the  very  essence  of  his  divine  philosophy. 

I  speak  here  of  those  ideas  as  to  which,  in  all  trustworthy 

*  "  There  is  no  fear  in  love  ;  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear." — ^^1  John 
iT.  18. 


WHAT   SPIRITUALISM   TEACHES.  171 

spirit-mes^ges,  there  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  variance  of 
sentimenc.  As  to  side-issues  and  non-essentials,  it  would  seem 
that  the  same  variety  and  uncertainty  of  opinion  exist  in  the 
next  world  as  in  our  own. 

The  following  may  be  taken  as  the  great,  leading  principles 
on  which  intelligent  Spiritualists  unite : 

1 .  This  is  a  world  governed  by  a  God  of  love  and  mercy,  in 
which  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  those  who  rever- 
ently conform  to  His  eternal  laws. 

2.  In  strictness  there  is  no  death.  Life  continues  from  the 
life  which  now  is  into  that  which  is  to  come,  even  as  it  continues 
from  one  day  to  another ;  the  sleep  which  goes  b^^"  the  name  of 
death  being  but  a  brief  transition-slumber  from  which,  for  the 
good,  the  awakening  is  immeasurably  more  glorious  than  in  the 
dawn  of  earthly  morning,  the  brightest  that  ever  shone.  In  all 
cases  in  which  life  is  well-spent,  the  change  which  men  are 
wont  to  call  Death  is  God's  last  and  best  gift  to  his  creatures 
here.* 

3.  The  earth-phase  of  life  is  an  essential  preparation  for  i-he 
life  which  is  to  come.  Its  appropriate  duties  and  callings  can- 
not be  neglected  without  injury  to  human  welfare  and  develop- 
ment, both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next.  Even  its  enjoy- 
ments, temperately  accepted,  are  fit  preludes  to.  the  happiaesa 
of  a  higher  state. 

4.  The  phase  of  life  which  follows  the  death-change  is,  in 
strictest  sense,  the  supplement  of  that  which  precedes  it.  It 
has  the  same  variety  of  avocations,  duties,  enjoyments,  corre- 
sponding, in  a  measure,  to  those  of  earth,  but  far  more  elevated ; 

*  Contrast,  with  this,  the  conception  of  early  Protestantism,  on  the 
same  subject.  Luther  regarded  death  as  the  expression  of  God's  wrath. 
Said  he  :  "It  were  a  light  and  easy  thing  for  a  Christian  to  suffer  and 
overcome  death,  if  he  knew  not  that  it  were  God's  wrath.  .  . 
An  heathen  dieth  securely  away  ;  he  neither  seeth  nor  feeleth  that  it 
is  God's  wrath,  but  meaneth  it  is  the  end  of  nature." — Table  Talk. 

Christian's  weary  bundle  that  dropped  from  his  shoulders  as  the  pil- 
grim neared  the  cross,  was  as  nothing  compared  to  the  terrible  burdei\, 
borne  day  by  day  through  life,  of  such  a  belief  as  that. 


172  LEADING   PRINCIPLES 

and  its  denizens  have  the  same  variety  of  character  and  of  in« 
telligence ;  existing,  too,  as  men  do  here,  in  a  state  of  prog- 
I'ess.*  Released  from  bodily  earth-clog,  their  periscope  ia 
wider,  their  perceptions  more  acute,  their  spiritual  knowledge 
much  greater,  their  judgment  clearer,  their  progress  more  rapid^ 
than  ours.  Vastly  wiser  and  more  dispassionate  than  we,  they 
are  still,  however,  fallible ;  and  they  are  governed  by  the  saraa 
general  laws  of  being,  modified  only  by  corporeal  disenthral- 
ment,  to  which  they  were  subjected  here. 

5.  Our  state  here  determines  oui*  initial  state  there.  The 
habitual  promptings,  the  pervading  impulses,  the  life  -  long 
yearnings,  in  a  word  the  moving  spirit,  or  what  Swedenborg 
calls  the  "  ruling  loves  "  of  man — these  decide  his  condition  on 
entering  the  next  world  :  not  the  written  articles  of  his  creed, 
nor  yet  the  incidental  errors  of  liis  life.f 

*  This  view  of  our  next  state  of  existence,  expressed  in  general 
terms,  occurs  in  the  religious  literature  of  modem  times,  antedating 
Swedenborg's  writings.  To  select  an  eminent  example,  we  find  Bishop 
Butler  (A.D.  1736}  saying:  "There  appears  so  little  connection  be- 
tween our  bodily  powers  of  sensation  and  our  present  powers  of  reflec- 
tion that  there  is  no  reason  to  conclude  that  death,  which  destroys  the 
former,  does  so  much  as  suspend  the  exercise  of  the  latter  or  interrupt 
our  continuing  to  exist  in  the  like  state  of  reflection  which  we  do 
now.  .  .  .  Death  may  not,  perhaps,  be  so  much  as  a  discontinu- 
ance of  the  exercise  of  these  powers,  nor  of  the  enjoyments  and  suffer- 
ings which  it  implies.  So  that  our  posthumous  life,  whatever  there 
may  be  in  it  additional  to  our  present,  yet  may  not  be  entirely  beginning 
anew,  but  going  on.  .  .  .  For  aught  we  know  of  ourselves,  of 
our  present  life  and  death,  death  may  immediately,  in  the  natura' 
course  of  things,  put  us  into  a  higher  and  more  enlarged  state  of  life, 
as  our  birth  does  ;  a  state  in  which  our  capacities  and  sphere  of  percep- 
tion and  of  action,  may  be  much  greater  than  at  present." — Analogy  oj 
Udigian,  Part  1,  chap.  i.  pp.  33,  34  (of  London  Ed.  of  1809). 

f  "  The  sin  that  practice  bums  into  the  blood, 

And  not  the  one  dark  hour  that  brings  remorse, 
Will  brand  us,  after,  of  whose  fold  we  be." 

Tennyson  :    Idyla  of  the  King.    Vivw  n. 


OF   SriRITUALISM.  173 

6.  We  do  not,  either  by  faith  or  works,  earn  Heaven,  nor 
ai-e  we  sentenced,  on  any  Day  of  "Wrath,  to  Hell.  In  the  next 
world  we  simply  gi'avitate  to  the  position  for  which,  by  life  on 
earth,  we  have  fitted  ourselves ;  and  we  occupy  that  position 
because  v/e  ai-e  fitted  for  it.* 

7.  There  is  no  instantaneous  change  of  character  when  we 
pass  from  the  present  phase  of  life.  Our  virtues,  our  vices  ;  our 
intelligence,  our  ignorance ;  our  aspirations,  our  grovellings ;  our 
habits,  propensities,  prejudices  even^ — all  pass  over  with  us : 
modified,  doubtless  (but  to  what  extent  we  know  not),  when  the 
spiritual  body  f  emerges, -divested  of  its  fleshly  incumbrance  ; 
yet  essentially  the  same  as  when  the  death-slumber  came  over 
us. 

8.  The  sufierings  there,  natural  sequents  of  evil-doing  and 
evil-thinking  here,  are  as  various  in  character  and  in  degree  as 
the  enjoyments;  but  they  are  mental,  not  bodily.  There  is  no 
escape  from  them  except  only,  as  on  earth,  by  the  door  of  re- 
pentance.    There  as  here,  sorrow  for  sin.  committed  and  desire 

*  One  finds  the  germ  of  tliese  ideas  m  writings  of  twenty-three  hun- 
dred years  ago.  The  wisest  of  Grecian  philosophers — representative 
of  the  Spiritualism  of  his  age — propounded  it.  Socrates  (Plato  being 
mterpreter)  says:  "Sinpe  the  soul  is  immortal,  it  requires  our  anxious 
care,  not  only  for  this  interval  which  we  call  life,  but  always."  .  .  . 
The  soul  "  can  have  no  other  refuge  nor  safety  from  evil  except  ia  re- 
maining as  good  and  wise  as  possible.  For  it  descends  to  Orcus  with 
nothing  else  but  the  results  of  its  mode  of  discipliae  and  education, 
which  are  said  to  be  either  of  the  greatest  advantage  or  injury  to  the 
departed."  .  .  ,  Then,  as  to  the  soul  of  the  evil-doer,  he  adds: 
"  It  strays  about  involved  in  utter  perplexity,  until  a  certain  period  has 
elapsed,  on  the  expiration  of  which  it  is  of  necessity  carried  into  an 
abode  suitable  to  it.  But  the  soul  that  has  led  a  pure  and  well-regula- 
ted life,  having  the  gods  for  associates  and  guides,  proceeds  to  inhabit 
a  region  adapted  to  those  like  itself." — Ph<Bdo^  §57,  Stanford's  trans- 
lation. 

Let  us  translate  Orcus,  "intermediate  state  ;"  and,  for  "the  gods," 
let  us  read  "advanced  spirits;"  and  we  have  here,  substantially,  an 
important  tenet  of  modem  Spiritualism  and  of  Swedenborgianism. 

f  1  Corinthians  xv.  44. 


174  LEADING  PEINCIPLES 

fcr  an  amended  life  are  the  indispensable  conditions-precedent 
of  advancement  to  a  better  state  of  being. 

9.  In  tbe  next  world  Love  ranks  higher  than  what  we  caL 
Wisdom;  being  itself  the  highest  wisdom.  There  deeds  of 
benevolence  far  outweigh  professions  of  faith.  There  simple 
goodness  rates  above  intellectual  power.  There  the  humble 
are  exalted.  There  the  meek  find  their  heritage.  There  the 
merciful  obtain  mercy.  The  better  denizens  of  that  world  are 
charitable  to  frailty  and  compassionate  to  sin  far  beyond  the 
dwellers  in  this  :  they  forgive  the  erring  brethren  they  have 
left  behind  them,  even  to  seventy  times  seven.  There,  is  no 
respect  of  persons.  There,  too,  self-righteousness  is  rebuked 
and  pride  brought  low. 

10.  A  trustful,*  childlike  f  spirit  is  the  state  of  mind  in 
which  men  are  most  receptive  of  beneficent  spiritual  impres- 
sions ;  and  such  a  spirit  is  the  best  preparation  for  entrance 
into  the  next  world. 

11.  There  have  always  existed  intermundane  laws,  according 
to  which  men  may  occasionally  obtain,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, revealings  from  those  who  have  passed  to  the  next  world 
before  them.  A  certain  proportion  of  human  beings  are  more 
sensitive  to  spiritual  perceptions  and  influences  than  their  fel- 
lows; J;  and  it  is  usually  in  the  presence,' or  through  the  medi- 

*  Matthew  xiii.  58 ;  Maxk  vi  5,  6. 

f  Matthew  xviii  3. 

X  Those  who,  in  modem  phrase,  are  termed  mediums  are  probably 
to  be  included  in  the  class  called  by  Reichenbach  sensitwes  ;  persons  ca- 
pable of  distinguishing  odic  incandescence  ia  a  'perfectly  dark  chamber. 
He  tbinks  that  nearly  half  the  human  race  belong  to  that  class,  though 
the  power  of  many  among  them  is  so  weak  as  to  be  hardly  appreciable. 
He  found  all  natural  somnambulists  to  be  sensitives ;  also  all  who  are 
subjects  of  artificial  somnambulism. — Der  Sensitive  Mensc\  Stuttgart, 
1854;  vol.  ii.  pp.  549,  555,  etc.  He  found  that  the  gift,  or  attribute,  ol 
sensitiveness  Wu,s  usually  hereditary ;  inherited  sometimes  from  the  fa- 
ther, more  frequently  from  the  mother,  occasionally  from  both. — pp. 
522-526,  where  lists  are  given.  Children  sometimes  possess  it  sc 
strongly  as  to  be  alarmed  by  luminous  appearances  at  night. — ^p.  121 


OF   SPIRITUALISM.  175 

im,  of  one  or  more  of  these  that  ultramundane  intercourse  oc- 
urs. 

12.  AVh{.'n  the  conditions  are  favorable,  and  the  sensitive 
h rough  whom  the  manifestations  come  is  highly  gifted,  these 
nay  supply  important  materials  for  thought  and  valuable  rules 
of  conduct.  But  spiritual  phenomena  sometimes  do  much  more 
than  this.  In  their  highest  phases  they  furnish  proof,  strong 
as  that  which  Christ's  disciples  enjoyed — proof  addressed  to  the 
reason  and  tangible  to  the  senses — of  the  reality  of  another  life, 
better  and  happier  than  this,  and  of  which  our  earthly  pilgrim- 
age is  but  the  novitiate.  They  bring  immortality  to  light  under  a 
blaze  of  evidence  which  outshines,  as  the  sun  the  stars,  all  tra- 
ditional or  historical  testimonies.  For  surmise  they  give  us 
conviction,  and  assured  knowledge  for  wavering  belief.* 

13.  The  chief  motives  which  induce  spirits  to  communicate 
with  men  appear  to  be — a  benevolent  desire  to  convince  us,  past 
doubt  or  denial,  that  there  is  a  world  to  come ;  now  and  then, 
the  attraction  of  unpleasant  memories  such  as  murder  "or 
suicide ;  sometimes  (in  the  worldly-minded)  the  earth-binding 
influence  of  cumber  and  trouble  :  but,  far  more  frequently,  the 
divine  impulse  of  human  affection,  seeking  the  good  of  the  loved 
ones  it  has  left  behind,  and,  at  times,  drawn  down,  perhaps,  by 
their  yearning  cries,  f 

14.  Under  unfavorable  or  imperfect  conditions,  spiritual 
communications,  how  honestly  reported  soever,  often  prove 
vapid  and  valueless  ;  and  this  chiefly  happens  when  communi- 

Reichenbacli's  researches  in  this  field  were  continued,  with  astonishing 
industry,  through  ten  years,  and  were,  at  an  early  day,  highly  appreci- 
ated by  Liebig  (Preface  to  Sermtwe  Mensch,  p.  xxiii.)  and  by  Berzeliua 
{Jahresbericht,  1846,  p.  819).  See,  for  Reichenbach's  earlier  observations, 
Untersuchungen  uher  die  Dynamide^  Braunschweig,  1850. 

*  If  we  think  of  the  '*  dark  seasons  "  that  overcome  the  most  ortho 
dox  professors,  and  consider  how  many  persons,  pious  and  strictly 
nursed  in  faith,  have  been  overtaken  by  Giant  Despair  and  led  captive 
to  Doubting  Castle,  we  shall  not  find  fault  with  the  adjective  wavering^ 
as  employed  above.     See  preceding  page  127  as  to  Luther's  doubts. 

t  "  Si  forte  fu  I'affettuoso  grido." — Dakte  :  Inferno^  canto  5. 


176        SPntlTUALISM   IGNORES   SPECULATIVE  DIVINITY. 

cations  are  too  assiduously  sought  or  continuously  persisted  in 
brief  volunteered  messages  being  tlie  most  trustworthy.  Im 
prudence,  inexperience,  supineness,  or  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the 
recipient  may  occasionally  result  in  arbitrary  control  by  spirits 
of  a  low  order ;  as  men  here  sometimes  yield  to  the  infatuation 
exerted  by  evil  associates.  Or,  again,  there  may  be  exerted  by 
the  inquirer,  especially  if  dogmatic  and  self-willed,  a  dominat- 
ing influence  over  the  medium,  so  strong  as  to  produce  effect? 
that  might  be  readily  mistaken  for  what  has  been  called  posses- 
sion.* As  a  general  rule,  however,  any  person  of  common 
intelligence  and  ordinary  will  can,  in  either  case,  cast  ofi 
such  mischievous  control :  or,  if  the  weak  or  incautious  give 
way,  one  who  may  not  improperly  be  called  an  exorcist — if  pos- 
sessed of  strong  magnetic  will,  moved  by  benevolence,  and  it 
may  be  aided  by  prayer,  f  can  usually  rid,  or  at  least  assist  to 
rid,  the  sensitive  from  such  abnormal  influence.  J 

In*  all  this  there  is  no  speculative  divinity.  And  I  admit 
the  probability  that  if,  through  spiritual  source,  you  were  to 
inquire  whether  the  theological  guessings,  touching  the  essence 
of  the  Godhead,  of  Arius  or  of  Athanasius  come  the  nearer  to 
the  truth,  you  might  get  no  reply,  or  perhaps  the  answer:  "  We 
are  uninformed  as  to  that  matter ;  "  with  the  remark  added,  it 
may  be  :  "  We  do  not  entertain  such  discussions  here." 

Are  they  not,  in  this,  wiser  than  we  ?  Up  through  the 
mists  and  horrors  of  the  persecution-ridden  Past,  the  common- 
sense  convictions  are  reaching  us  that  we  have  no  conceivable 
means  of  settling  any  such  controversy  ;  and,  agaiu,  that,  if  we 


*  Dr.  John  F.  Gray,  whose  experience  entitles  his  opiaion  to  great 
consideration,  and  others,  believe  that  what  some  call  demoniac  posses- 
sion, may  be  explained,  in  very  many  if  not  in  all  instances,  by  purely 
human  agency;  for  example,  by  mesmerism. 

f  Mark  ix.  29 ;  Matthew  xvii.  21. 

X  The  Il3v.  James  Freeman  Clarke  has  become  conviaced  as  to  th« 
reality  of  Ytosfififision.— Steps  of  Bdief,  Boston,  1870,  pp.  132,  183. 


BPIEITUALISM   DENOUNCES   NO   EELIGION.  177 

had,  its  settlement  would  not  influence,  by  a  hairbreadth,  the 
morals  or  the  welfare  of  man. 

Further  than  this,  I  have  never,  out  of  thousands  of  com- 
munications, received  one  that  denounced  any  sincere  religious 
opinion,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  Mahommedan  or  Hin- 
doo. It  is  to  be  conceded,  indeed,  that,  in  these  modern  revela- 
tions,  certain  orthodox  deductions  from  a  portion  of  the  epis- 
tles, entertained  by  Calvin  and  Luther,  find  no  countenance. 
But,  in  the  preceding  pages,  I  have  taken  some  pains  to  set 
forth  the  grounds  for  my  belief,  that  until  these  deductions  are 
abandoned,  there  will  be  no  reHgious  progress ;  and  that,  so 
long  as  they  are  proclaimed  from  your  pulpits^,  the  Church  over 
which  you  preside  will  stand  still  or  lose  ground. 

I  am  sorry  to  believe  that  the  failure  of  modern  Spiiitual- 
'sm  to  indorse  the  doctrines  of  vicarious  atonement*  and 
original  depravity,  will  cause  many  of  your  number,  in  advance 
of  evidence,  to  condemn  its  influence,  and  reject  its  claims  to 
be  heard.  Yet  if  a  Wise  Man  of  old  speak  truth,  «  He  that 
answereth  a  matter  before  he  heareth  it,  it  is  folly  and  sliame 
unto  him."  f 

*  Throughout  this  address  I  have  taken  the  tenet  of  the  atonement 
in  its  doctrinal  sense,  as  the  Reformers  held  it ;  deeming  that  to  be  the 
honest  way  of  putting  it.     There  is  a  sense  in  which  such  a  dogma  is 
equally  true  and  important.     Christ  came,  as  he  himself  said,  "  a  light 
into  the  world,"  that  whoso  accepted  his  teachings  "  should  not  abide 
in  darkness"  (John  xiii  46,  47).     In  inculcation  of  these  teachings, 
replete  with  spiritual  light,  he  spent  his  life  ;  and  in  attestation  of  them 
he  sacrificed  it.     If  we  act  out  the  spirit  of  his  teachings  in  daily  walk, 
we  reconcUe  our  ways  with  the  eternal  laws  of  our  being,  and  may  be 
said  to  be  at  one  with  the  Great  Author  of  these  laws.     In  this  sense 
we  may  declare  that  Christ  died  for  humankind,  and  that  through  his 
iaterposed  agency— his  mediartion— our  race  is  redeemed  from  error, 
and  from  the  sufferings  error  entails  here  and  hereafter.     But  this  ia 
not  what  Luther  meant  when,  in  his  Commentary  (m  Galatians,  he  spoke 
of  one  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead  accursed  for  our  sake ;  nor  is  it 
what  the  orthodox  Protestantism  of  our  day  means,  when  it  preaches 
vicarious  atonement. 
t  Proverbs  xviii.  13. 
8* 


L78  THE   GIFT  OF  TONGUES   IN   1830. 

Others  may  be  staggered  at  the  outset,  by  the  nature  of  ita 
claims.  The  "gift  of  tongues,"  perhaps,  may  seem  to  them  an 
incredible  absurdity.  Yet  if  it  is  not  incredible  nor  absurd  in 
the  second  chapter  of  Acts,  or  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  first 
Corinthians,  at  what  time  did  it  change  its  character  ? 

Baden  Powell  deemed  it  an  actual  phenomenon,  occurring 
under  law  at  the  present  day.* 

So,  again,  of  prophecy.  It  may  seem  to  us  beyond  belief  that 
what  is  yet  to  be  should  ever  be  disclosed  to  fallible  creatures. 
Yet  in  all  ages,  back  to  the  days  of  Abraham  and  Melchizedek, 
certain  men  have  been  honored  and  trusted  as  possessors  ol 
proplustic  power.  Is  it  incredible  that  the  greatest  of  all  earthly 
Teachers  should  have  been  heralded,  more  or  less  distinctly,  by 
the  ancient  prophets,  as  the  Anointed  of  God,  who  was  to  call 
mankind  from  darkness  to  light  ?     Bunsen  admits  this,  f 

*  The  sermons  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Irving,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  created,  about  the  year  1825,  an  unprecedented  excite- 
ment in  London.  In  1830  appeared,  in  his  Church,  the  Apostolic  gift 
of  unknown  tongues.     Baden  Powell,  alludi'^.g  to  this,  says  : 

"  At  the  time  the  matter  was  closely  scrutinized  and  inquired  into  ; 
and  many  perfectly  unprejudiced  and  even  sceptical  persons  them- 
selves witnessed  the  effects  and  were  fully  convinced — as  indeed  were 
most  candid  iaquirers  at  the  time — that  after  reasonable  or  possible 
allowance  for  the  influence  of  delusion  or  imposture,  beyond  all  ques- 
tion certain  extraordinaTy  manifestations  did  occur.  .  .  .  Yet  no 
sober-minded  person  did  for  a  moment  beheve  that  they  were  miracu- 
lous^ .  .  .  but  that  they  were  in  some  way  to  be  ascribed  to  natural 
causes,  as  yet,  perhaps,  Httle  understood." — Baden  Powell  :  Recent 
Inquiries  in  Theology y  p.  122.     The  italics  are  in  the  originaL 

f  In  his  Gott  in  Oeschichte.  He  there  says  that  the  power  of  sight, 
ill  the  old  Hebrew  prophets,  reaching  beyond  ordinary  prediction,  rose 
to  the  character  of  a  true  world-survey  (sich  zur  wahren  Weltanschau- 
ung erhoben  hat)  ;  and  he  adds  :  "  They  had  the  power  of  prophecy 
in  common  with  the  Pythoness,  .  .  .  and  with  many  clairv^oyants  of 
our  own  century." — pp.  149  and  151. 

Bunsen  regarded  this  power  as  a  natural  gift,  consistent  with  fallibil- 
ity. Yet  his  commentator  in  Essays  and  Reviews  (Dr.  WiUiams),  seema 
to  regret  the  admission  of  prophecy  as  an  actual  phenomenon.  "  One 
would  wish,"  he  says,    '  Bunsen  might  have  intended  only  the  power  of 


CERTAIN   mOOF    OF    IMMORTALITY   WANTED.  179 

Orthodoxy  regards  Baden  Powell  and  Baron  Bunsen  as  ultra- 
sceptical  authorities.  Does  it  not  occur  to  you  that  modem 
spiritual  phenomena  which  men  so  able  and  so  little  disposed  to 
superstition  admit  as  realities,  may  be  worth  looking  into  ? 

I  remind  you,  in  conclusion,  that,  aside  from  phenomenal 
evidence  of  this  character,  you  have  no  certain  proof,  such  aa 
Tliomas  had,  of  the  existence  of  another  world.  It  is  not 
sceptics  alone  who  have  alleged  this  and  bewailed  it — like 
Shelley : 

"  Who  telletha  tale  of  unspeaking  death  ? 
Who  lifteth  the  veil  of  what  is  to  come  ? 
Who  pauiteth  the  shadows  that  are  beneath 

The  wide-wmding  caves  of  the  peopled  tomb  ?  " 

The  most  eminent  divines  have  admitted  a  lack  of  certainty 
as  to  a  life  to  come,  in  the  absence  of  testimony  from  the 
senses.  Examples  aboimd,  but  I  have  space  here  for  two  only. 
Butler,  in  his  Analogy  of  Heligion,  confesses :  "I  do  not 
mean  to  affirm  that  there  is  the  same  degree  of  conviction  that 
our  living  powers  will  continue  after  death  as  that  our  substan- 
ces will."  * 

And  Archbishop  Tillotson,  in  an  argument  against  the  real 
presence,  says  :  "  Infidelity  were  hardly  possible  to  men,  if  alj 
men  had  the  same  evidence  for  the  Christian  Religion  that  they 
have  against  transubstantiation ;  that  is,  the  clear  and  irresist- 
ible evidence  of  sense."  f 

Hundreds  of  thousands  feel  assured  to-day  that  they  have 
had  this  "clear  and  irresistible  evidence"  for  immortality. 
Think  of  such  a  living  conviction  !  Consider  how  it  stands  out 
above  all  that  wealth,  fame,  and  every  earthly  good-fortune  can 

seemg  the  ideal  m  the  actual,  or  of  tracing  the  Divine  Government  in 
the  movements  of  men." — Becent  Inquiries  in  Theology,  p.  79.  Why 
this  regret  ?    I  think  Bunsen's  the  correct  view. 

*  Analogy  of  Bdigion,  p.  17.     Itahcsin  original. 

f  Sermons^  8th  Ed.  London,  1720,  Sermon  xxvi. 


ISO  SACEED    DUTY    OF   INVESTIGATION. 

bestow — the  blessing  of  blessings,  which  the  world  can  neithei 
give  nor  take  away  ! 

I  think  if  we  only  realized  in  what  deep  earnest  millions  on 
millions  have  longed,  with  a  longing  past  expression,  for  some 
sure  token  of  another  life,  we  should  better  conceive  the  sacred 
duty  of  investigation.  With  transcendant  interests  at  stake, 
can  wo  neglect  such  a  duty  without  risk  that,  like  the  unbe- 
lievers in  Gamaliel's  day,  we  may  haply  be  found  fighting 
ajainst  God  ? 

Thus  I  have  sought  to  show — 

That  Protestantism  has  steadily  lost  ground  for  three  cen- 
turies past,  and  is  losing  it  still. 

That  this  retrogression  seems  to  be  caused  by  its  adherence 
to  certain  so-called  orthodox  dogmas  which  the  intelligence  of 
the  world  has  outgrown ;  perceiving  them  to  be  contrary  to 
God's  eternal  laws,  promotive  of  intolerance,  injurious  to  mor- 
ality, and  arrestive  of  religious  progress. 

That  Christianity,  divested  of  alien  scholasticisms  which -its 
Author  never  taught,  is  a  progressive  science,  destined  to  be- 
come the  religion  of  Civilization. 

That  if  we  admit  miracles,  we  must  deny  the  uniform  reign 
of  law  and  thus  come  into  direct  conflict  with  modem  science : 
but  if  we  recognize  the  reign  of  law  and  admit  that  the  spiritual 
powers  and  gifts  of  the  first  century  existed  under  law,  then, 
as  law  is  continuous  as  well  as  uniform,  spiritual  phenomena 
of  a  similar  character  ought  to  be  found  still  occurring. 

That,  in  point  of  fact,  the  teachings  of  Christ  have  been  sup- 
plemented, as  he  promised  they  should  be,  by  revealings  bring- 
ing truths  and  comfort  from  that  higher  sphere  of  being  toward 
wliich  we  are  all  fast  hasting :  and  that  this  happens  not  mir- 
aculously, but  in  accordance  with  intermundane  laws  which  it 
behooves  us  to  study. 

And,  finally,  that  such  modern  revealings,  bringing  immor 
tality  to  light,  are  essential  to  arrest  the  growing  scepticism  of 
the  present  day. 


LET   E^TEEMUNDANE   LAWS   BE   STUDIED.  161 

If  what  has  been  said  should  induce  the  earnest  thinkers  of 
your  profession  to  study  intermundane  laws,  the  foregoing 
pages  will  not  have  been  written  in  vain.  But  as  laws  dimly 
discerned  can  only  be  explored  in  the  phenomena  they  govern, 
I  have  sought,  in  the  chapters  which  follow,  to  lighten,  for  yoii 
and  for  others,  the  labor  of  such  study,  by  bringing  together,  in 
narrative  form,  some  of  the  more  salient  and  suggestive  of  the 
phenomena  in  question ;  attested,  I  venture  to  affirm,  by  evi- 
dence as  strong  as  that  which  is  daily  admitted,  in  our  courta 
of  justice,  to  decide  the  life  or  death  of  men. 


KoBEET  Dale  Owen. 

)IANA,    I 

Octoler  1,  1871. 


New  Harmony,  Indiana,  ) 


THE  DEBATABLE  LAND. 


BOOK    I. 

TOUCmNQ  COMMUNICATION  OF  RELIGIOUS  KNOWLEDGE 
TO  MAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 


OP  HUMAN   INFALLIBILITY. 


"  The  mortalest  enemy  tinto  knowledge,  and  that  which  hath  done 
the  greatest  execution  upon  Truth,  hath  been  a  peremptory  adhesion 
unto  authority." — SiB  Thomas  Browne  :  Vulgar  Errors. 

**  Conscience  is  the  supreme  interpreter,  whom  it  may  be  a  duty  to 
enlighten,  but  whom  it  can  never  be  a  duty  to  disobey." — Temple: 
now  Bishop  of  Exeter, 


I  PROPOSE  to  investigate  a  class  of  phenomena  that  have 
been  regarded,  by  turns,  as  miracles,  feats  of  magic,  arts  of 
necromancy ;  signs  and  wonders,  mighty  works,  spiritual  gifts  ; 
occult  forces,  mysterious  agencies,  spiritual  manifestations. 

Not  as  a  topic  of  curious  research ;  not  as  a  theme  of  specu- 
lative inf^uiry.  I  have  selected  this  disparaged  subject  because 
it  brings  one  face  to  face  with  the  great  questions  of  the  world. 

Of  late  years  many  earnest  and  thoughtful  minds  have  been 
led  to  recognize,  in  certain  strange  incidents  of  the  above  class, 


184:  THE  GREAT  PEOBLEM. 

when  rationally  interpreted,  beneficent  agencies  of  eminent 
power  and  vast  practical  importance :  influences  urgently  needed, 
in  this  age  of  the  world,  to  quicken  waning  faith  in  a  life  to 
come,  and  to  afford,  in  support  of  public  and  private  morals, 
helps  more  cogent  than  those  which  conventional  creeds  com- 
monly supply; 

But  the  value  of  these  phenomena,  as  religious  and  reforma- 
tory agencies,  rests,  at  the  outset,  on  their  claim  to  be  spiritual ; 
and  that  again  intimately  connects  itself  with  the  solution  of  a 
problem  than  which  no  more  important  one  can  engage  the  at- 
tention of  man:  Do  the  denizens  of  the  next  world*  ever  in- 
tervene in  the  concerns  of  this  ?  Have  they  the  power,  and 
do  they  occasionally  exert  it,  to  affect,  for  good  or  evil,  the 
lives  and  the  fortunes  of  human  kind  ?  In  fine,  has  God  vouch- 
safed, or  denied,  to  us  here  upon  earth,  intercourse  on  certain 
conditions  with  the  spiritual  world  ? 

An  overwhelming  majority  among  all  sects  of  Christians 
holds  that  spiritual  intervention  has  been;  while  the  most 
numerous  of  these  sects  teaches  that  it  still  is,  albeit  restricted 
within  the  limits  of  a  single  church.  A  small  minority,  but 
one  that  is  rapidly  increasing,  believes  that  intermundane  laws 
have  always  existed,  and  now  exist,  under  which  occasional  in- 
tercourse between  the  two  worlds  is  possible;  and  that,  in  poiat 
of  factj  such  intercourse  occurs  at  this  day,  unrestricted  to  fa- 
vored church  or  sect,  in  various  phases  throughout  the  world. 

Let  us  consider  how  this  last  belief  adapts  itself  to  the  wants 
of  the  age,  what  relation  it  bears  to  the  intellectual  and  religi- 
ous tendencies  of  the  times,  and  what  position  it  is  entitled  to 
hold  among  the  creeds  of  Christendom. 

Wherever  religion  has  existed,  the  human  mind  has  been  wont 

*  I  here  refrain  from  touching  on  the  analogical  evidences  for  a  future 
state,  having  discussed  that  matter  elsewhere  ;  {Footfalls  on  the  Bound- 
(vry  of  AnotJier  World,  Book  IV.  Chap.  I.,  pp.  476-503.)  The  sub- 
ject has  been  ably  treated  by  Isaac  Taylor,  in  his  Physical  Them^y  of 
Another  Life :   Loudon,  1839  ;  pp.  64-69. 


A  CTIBKENT  OPINION   OF  THB  PAST.  185 

to  occupy  itself  with  the  inquiry  how  far,  and  in  what  mode, 
God  has  imparted  spiritual  knowledge  to  men :  a  sceptical  por- 
tion of  society  (specially  active  all  over  Europe  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century)  doubting  or  denying  that  He  has  ever  imparted 
it. 

The  current  opinion  of  the  past  has  been  that  He  has  im- 
parted it  directly ;  and  if  directly,  then  infallibly,  seeing  that 
we  cannot  rationally  impute  error  to  God.  Thus  all  spiritual 
communication  or  influence  has  been,  almost  by  the  common 
consent  of  Christendom,  interpreted  as  actual  speech  of  the 
Deity,  or  Divine  intromission  immediately  emanating  from  one 
of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  Hence  knowledge  spiritually 
communicated  has  been  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  knowledge 
free  from  all  error.  Hence,  also,  derives  the  claim  of  all 
dominant  religions,  Hindoo,  Mahometan,  Roman  Catholic,  even 
Protestant,  to  be  the  organs  of  infallible  truth  and  the  deposi- 
tories of  spiritual  authority,  by  right  divine ;  authority  which 
it  is  impious  to  question  and  incurring  eternal  punishment  to 
disobey.*  Even  individuals  believing  themselves  spiritually 
favored  have  given  in  to  this  idea.  "  It  came  to  me  from  the 
Lord,"  was  ^  common  expression  of  Swedenborg. 

But  the  tendency  of  the  civilized  mind  is  unmistakably  op- 
posed to  the  idea  of  direct  divine  interposition.  We  witness  a 
thousand  beneficent  agencies  around  us;  and,  imless  we  are 
atheists,  we  ascribe  these  to  God.  Yet  we  see  that  every  one 
of  them  is  mediate.  There  has  been  no  direct  gift.  To  us  of 
modern  times  there  have  been  granted,  imdei  the  divine  econ- 
omy, facihties  for  acquiring  and  perpetuating  knowledge  unim- 
agined  by  our  remote  ancestors.  But  God  did  not  invent  fol 
us  the  telescope  to  detect  planets  and  suns  which  these  ances- 
tors had  never  seen,  nor  the  microscope  to  penetrate  the  min- 
ate  mysteries  of  an  invisible  world.     He  did  not  reveal  to  men 

*  Exceptions  are  to  be  found  throughout  the  doctrinal  Iiistory  of  the 
Dark  Ages.  The  votaries  of  Black  Magic  believed  that  spiritual  knowl- 
edge came  to  them,  not  from  the  Lord,  but,  in  illici";  form,  from  thf 
Devil,  or  other  Mephistophelian  agency. 


186 


sensible  signs  to  represent  human  thoughts,  the  pen  to  perpet- 
uate these  thoughts  from  generation  to  generation,  the  printing- 
press  to  enlighten  the  intellectual  world.  He  is  the  author  oi 
all  these  blessings,  but  indirectly  only ;  they  come  to  us  from 
llini,  but  they  come  to  us  through  our  fellow-creatures. 

All  analogy,  then,  fortifies  the  idea  not  only  that  God's 
agency  in  man's  favor  is  ever  mediate,  but  also  that  His  aid  is 
given  on  certain  conditions.  And  these  conditions  involve,  on 
our  part,  thought,  research,  reflection,  industry,  enterprise. 
There  is  a  great  truth  in  a  homely  proverb :  "  God  helps  those 
who  help  themselves."  "We  can  perceive  His  design  that  we 
should  search  out  what  is  to  benefit  us ;  that  we  should  earn 
what  we  receive.  Among  God's  eternal  laws  one  of  the  chief 
is  the  law  of  progress;  but  throughout  the  entire  physical 
world  we  see  that  it  is  by  man's  head  and  hands  this  progress 
is  worked  out,  not  by  miraculous  intervention. 

Some  of  the  soundest  intellects  of  former  centuries,  from  the 
seen  inferring  the  unseen,  have  reached,  or  approached,  the 
conclusion  that  every  exercise  of  God's  power,  alike  in  the 
physical  and  in  the  spiritual  realm,  is  effected  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  means  :  in  other  words,  mediately  under  law.* 
And  surely  there  suggest  themselves,  in  connection  with  man's 
nature  and  with  his  position  in  a  world  where  evil  exists,  and 
with  his  career  in  that  world,  the  strongest  reasons  in  favor  of 
this  intermediate  action.  Though  we  can  but  dimly  discern 
those  things  which  go  to  make  us  the  beings  we  are,  yet  we 

*  Bacon,  whose  mind  ranged  over  all  subjects,  sublunary  and  spirit- 
ual, takes  this  ground  :  "  God  worketh  nothing  in  natmre  but  by  sec- 
ond causes ;  and  if  they  would  have  it  otherwise  believed,  it  is  mer« 
imposture." — AdDancerhent  of  Learning. 

And  we  find  a  distinguished  divine  of  the  last  century  asserting  the 
credibility  of  such  a  view.  "  The  visible  government  which  God  exer- 
cises over  the  world  is  by  the  instrumentality  and  mediation  ot  others. 
And  how  far  His  invisible  government  be  or  be  not  so,  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  at  all  by  reason.  The  supposition  that  part  of  it  is  so, 
appears,  to  say  the  least,  as  credible  as  the  contrary." — Bdtlbb* 
Analogy  of  Religion,  Part  II.  Chap.  V. 


GLIMPSE   OF   A   THEOEY   OF   EVIL.  187 

perceive  that  man  takes  delight  in  progress,  and  that  his  mora/ 
and  iniellectual  wants  find  full  satisfaction  only  in  a  progress* 
ive  state.  We  perceive,  also,  that  if  there  is  to  be  progress, 
there  must  be  the  worse  and  the  better — the  worse  in  the  past, 
the  better  in  the  future ;  in  other  words  there  must,  as  a 
general  rule,  be  comparative  evil  behind  us,  and  comparative 
good  to  come.  Thus  only  do  we  obta,in  a  glimpse  toward  a 
raiional  theory  of  evil,  and  of  the  reasons  which  may  undexlie 
its  permission.  For,  though  we  may  desire  unmixed  good  in 
worldly  affairs  and  unmixed  truth  in  spiritual  revealings,  both 
are  unreasonable  wishes.  Witness  our  consciousness  that  our 
best  hajjpiness  consists  in  sustained  efforts,  from  darkness  to 
approach  the  light ;  from  evil  gradually  to  attain  unto  good ; 
and  from  error  to  climb  the  pleasant  paths  of  truth,  as  these 
open  to  more  and  more  excellent  knowledge.  Finality  is  stag- 
nation ;  a  paradise  for  the  sluggard  only. 

We  perceive,  further,  that  all  human  powers  dwindle  if  they 
are  not  fitly  used,  and  that  judgment  itself,  if  not  habitually 
called  into  exercise,  is  liable  to  deterioration  and  decay.* 

But  to  beings  thus  constituted  and  existing  in  such  a  world, 
an  infalKble  revelation,  direct  from  its  Creator,  would  be  a 
gift  utterly  unsuited  to  their  nature,  at  variance  with  every- 
thing we  see  around  us,  and  involving  a  conception  that  is 
disproved,  as  far  as  the  unseen  can  be  disproved,  by  all  the 
lessons  of  analogy.     It  would  be  a  finality  where  all  else  is 


*  "  A  world  in  which  men  should  be  exonerated  from  the  duty,  ot 
forbidden  the  right,  to  bring  the  judgment  into  play — to  sift,  by  the 
strict  dictates  of  conscience,  good  from  evil,  the  right  from  the  wrong, 
would  be  a  world  disgraced  and  degraded.  If  such  a  principle  were 
fully  carried  out,  it  would  at  last  become  a  world  lackiag  not  only  the 
exercise  of  reason,  but  rea,son  itself.  Use,  to  an  extent  which  it  ie 
difficult  to  determine,  is  essential  to  continued  existence.  That  which 
ceases  to  fulfil  its  purpose  finally  ceases  to  be. .  The  eyes  of  fishea 
found  far  in  the  interior  of  the  Mammoth  Cave  of  Kentucky,  shut  out 
forever  from  the  light  of  day,  are  rudimental  oiAy. ^^—FootfaUs  on  tht 
Boundary  of  Another  Worldj  p.  41. 


188  THE   TIDE   OF   HUMAN   OPINION   IS 

proflu^nt ;  therefore,  an  anomaly  in  a  progressive  world 
avowedly  so,  indeed,  since  its  friends  admit,  as  to  their  relig- 
ion, that  as  there  has  been  no  scientific  formation,  so  there  can 
be  no  progressive  development.*  It  would  be  an  element 
alien  and  discordant  in  a  world  to  the  inhabitants  of  which 
God  has  given  reason  to  prove  all  things,  and  conscience  to 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  It  would  tend  to  narrow,  in  a 
lamentable  manner,  the  field  of  action  in  which  man's  intel- 
lectual faculties  and  moral  sentiments  can  have  play.  As 
regards  the  highest  of  avocations — the  study  of  spiritual  science 
— its  inexorable  effect  would  be  to  deaden  Reason  and  to  si- 
lence Conscience. 

Beyond  all  this,  there  is  a  cogent  influence  which  goes  to 
determine  the  tide  of  public  opinion  that  is  setting  in  against 
the  old  doctrine  of  infallibility.  The  line  of  human  progress  is 
from  the  less  to  the  more  of  liberty.  Despotisms  give  way  to 
limited  monarchies  ;  limited  monarchies  tend  to  republicanism. 
And  more  especially  is  the  sentiment  of  the  present  day  ad- 
verse to  mental  absolutism  and  spiritual  coercion.  But  infalli- 
bility entails  and  justifies  tyranny,  alike  of  mind  and  body. 

It  justifies  it  logically,  even  mercifully.  If  a  man  be  the 
possessor  of  infallible  religious  truth,  to  miss  which  is  to  sink 
into  Hell,  and  to  accept  which  is  to  attain  Heaven,  such  a  man 
ought  to  be — he  is,  by  right  divine — a  despot.  If  he  loves  his 
kind  and  can  control  them,  it  will  appear  to  him  an  imperative 
duty,  by  argument  if  he  can,  by  force  even  to  death  if  he  must, 
to  put  down  all  opposing  doctrines.  When,  in  Italy,  during 
the  fifteenth  century,  the  plague  thrice  decimated  the  popula- 
tion, it  was  a  popular  belief  that  this  frightful  pestilence  was 
caused  by  wholesale  poisoners  {avvellenatori)  whose  diabolical 
arts  caused  the  death  of  hundred-thousands.  If  this  idle  sus- 
picion had  been  just,  who  would  have  raised  his  voice  against 
the  punishment  of  such  criminals  ?     Would  not  Italy  and  the 

*  See  Prefatory  Address  to  the  Protestant  Clergy,  Motto  to  sectioii 
9,  and  foot-note  to  motto. 


SETTINa  m  AGAINST  INFALLIBILnT.  189 

world  have  been  gainers  by  their  deaths  ?  But  -what  was  th« 
offence  committed  against  the  perishing  body,  compared  to  hia 
who  poisons  the  deathless  soul  ? 

If  a  Church  conscientiously  believes  that  she  holds  and 
teaches  the  one  infallible  religion,  must  she  not,  as  to  all  here- 
tics, necessarily  take  this  view  ?  In  the  eyes  of  devout  Roman- 
ists, were  not  the  Albigenses  and  the  Vaudois  just  such  poi- 
soners ?  When  th6  massacres  which  followed  the  night  of  St. 
Bartholomew  had  done  their  work,  were  there  not  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  spiritual  poisoners  less  to  be  found  throughout  France  ? 

The  horrors  of  the  Inquisition  are  chargeable,  not  to  the 
Inquisitors  (except  such  as  were  hypocrites),  but  to  the  doc- 
trine underlying  their  creed,  which  vindicates  and  sanctifies  the 
mental  despotism  they  have  exercised. 

But  a  world  that  is  waxing,  age  by  age,  more  liberty-loving 
and  more  humane — a  world  that  is  learning  obedience  to 
Christ's  injunction  that  we  judge  not  lest  we  in  turn  bo 
judged — a  world  that,  with  all  its  faults,  is  gradually  becomino 
more  gentle  and  charitable  and  kindly — ^in  other  words,  more 
Christian — such  a  world  instinctively  rejects  a  doctrine  that 
logically  leads  to  wholesale  murders  for  honest  opinion's  sake. 
It  is  rapidly  reaching  the  conclusion  that  a  God  of  Goodness 
and  Mercy  never  has  granted,  and  never  will  grant  to  any 
man,  or  to  any  Church,  a  gift  of  infallibility  which  would 
entitle  its  possessor  to  punish  and  exterminate  other  men  and 
other  Churches,  because  they  did  what  conscience  enjoined, 
and  believed  what  their  reason  taught  them. 

But  the  spirit  of  the  age,  we  shall  be  told,  effectually  pro- 
tects us  from  such  outrages  on  religious  freedom.  No  doubt. 
The  civilized  world  of  to-day  will  not  suffer  the  believers  in 
infalKbility  to  be  consistent  in  carrying  out  their  doctrine 
What  then  ?  In  proof  that  the  world  has  outgrown  that  doc 
trine  we  find  the  strongest  of  all  evidence,  namely  this :  that, 
because  of  the  progress  of  humane  ideas,  its  appropriate  exer- 
cise lias  be(?ome  insufferable. 

In  view  of  considerations   so  numerous  and  so  cogent,  one 


190  CHUECH    OF   home's    STRONGHOLD. 

Might;  be  led  to  expect  the  immediate  downfall  of  a  do(rtrine 
fraught  with  barbarity.  Its  ultimate  downfall  is  certain  ;  yet 
its  hold  is  still  strong  on  the  human  mind,  and  there  are  grave 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  abolition.  Men  are  wisely  loath  to 
pull  down  an  old  house,  how  dilapidated  soever,  until  they  sea 
their  way  to  some  better  shelter  wherewith  to  replace  it. 

During  the  latter  portion  of  the  last  century,  millions,  desert- 
ing the  venerable  mansion  of  Catholic  infallibility,  tried  the 
shelter  of  Materialism.  It  proved  blank  and  cheerless,  and, 
after  a  brief  sojourn,  a  large  portion  of  these  millions,  as  we 
have  seen,*  returned  to  the  ancient  stronghold  they  had  left. 
They  preferred  to  be  submissive  CathoUcs,  and  believers  in  a 
life  to  come,  rather  than  to  enjoy  religious  liberty  shrouded 
with  doubts  of  a  future  existence.  And  they  had  found,  out- 
side of  their  Church's  teachings,  no  certainties  touching  the 
realities  of  another  world — neither  in  Rationalism  nor  in  Pro- 
testantism. 

Not  in  Rationalism ;  for  Rationalism  not  only  rejected  all 
revelation  of  a  spiritual  character  coming  to  us  directly  from 
God,  but  denied  also,  or  had  never  seriously  considered,  spirit- 
ual revealings  of  a  mediate  character,  coming  to  us  from  those 
whom  we  shall  recognize  as  our  fellow- creatures  by  and  by, 
when  death  shall  have  ushered  us  among  them. 

And  not  in  Protestantism ;  because,  in  Catholic  eyes,  her 
chain  of  evidence  touching  the  infallible  appears  manifestly 
composed  in  part  of  fallible  links.  Its  first  links,  indeed,  she 
borrowed  from  Romanism,  agreeing  with  her  in  this,  that  the 
IsTew  Testament  in  the  original  tongues  contained  infallible 
narratives  and  teachings,  infalKbly  recorded.  But  by  her  own 
showing,  this  infallible  revelation,  long  existing  in  detached 
portions,  was  committed,  for  unenlightened  centuries,  to  the 
custody  of  falKble  men ;  was  translated  by  fallible  men,  at  first 
into  Latin,  after  a  thousand  years  more,  into  modern  tongues ; 
was  gradually  separated  by  fallible  men  from  apocryphal  mat- 
ter; was  finally  adopted,  more  than  three  huadi'ed   ind  fifty 

*  See  Prefatory  Address,  section  2. 


TEANSLATIOXS    OF    SCRIPTrRE.  191 

years  after  the  crucifixion,  by  a  Catholic  (Ecumeaical  Council, 
and  a  Catholic  pope,*  who  announced  the  books  that  should  be 
included  in  the  canon ;  authenticating  the  whole  as  the  Word 
of  God  ;f  and,  finally,  has  been  interpreted,  and  is  interpreted 

*  Lecky,  a  writer  whose  researclies  toucMag  tMs  matter  seem  to  have 
been  thorough,  speaking  of  "the  Fathers  of  the  fourth  century," 
says  :  "  It  is  quite  certain  that  they  were  not,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
fcliG  word,  Protestants.  It  is  quite  certain  that  there  existed  among 
tliem  practices,  forms  of  devotion,  and  doctrinal  tendencies,  which 
may  not  have  been  actually  Roman  Catholic,  but  which  at  least  hang 
upon  the  extreme  verge  of  Catholicism,  and  inevitably  gravitated  to 
it." — R^icionalism  in  Europe,  vol.  i,  p.  169. 

f  A  few  memoranda  may  here  be  acceptable  to  the  reader. 

As  to  the  translations  of  Scripture.  To  the  zeal  and  learning  of 
Jerome  (Hieronymus),  the  best  scholar  not  only  of  his  age,  but  of  many 
succeeding  centuries,  the  Christian  world  owes  the  first  reliable  Vulgate 
of  the  New  Testament.  His  translation,  as  St.  Augustine  called  it,  or 
revision  (emendatio)  according  to  his  own  more  modest  expression,  waa 
made  at  the  instance  of  Pope  Damasus,  from  A.D.  383  to  385.  Up  to 
that  time  there  had  been  ixmumerable  translations,  some  partial,  some 
assuming  to  be  complete — ' '  almost  as  many  forms  of  text  as  copies" 
Jerome  himself  says: — ("tot  sunt  exemplaria  quot  codices." — Praef. 
in  Ecv.)  Jerome's  version,  though  many  exclaimed  against  it  as  a 
dangerous  and  profane  innovation,  gradually  came  into  favor ;  was, 
substantially,  for  a  thousand  years,  the  Bible  in  common  use ;  was  de- 
clared by  the  Council  of  Trent  (1546)  to  be  the  authentic  edition  ;  — 
( ' '  statuit  et  declarat  ut  hoec  ipsa  vetus  et  vulgata  editio  .  .  .  pro  authen- 
tica  habeatur ;")  and  is  the  real  parent  of  all  the  vernacular  versions  of 
Western  Euri^pe,  especially  the  English,  WyclLffe's  translation  being  an 
almost  Kteral  rendering  of  it.  It  guided  the  German  edition  by  Luther, 
and  from  him  the  influence  of  the  Latin  passed  to  our  Authorized  Ver- 
sion. 

As  to  the  Scriptural  canon,  the  New  Testament  authors,  believers  in 
the  speedy  end  of  the  world,  had  evidently  no  idea  that  their  writioga 
would  ever  be  collected  in  a  volume.  An  orthodox  Protestant  authority 
says  :  "  The  writings  of  the  New  Testament  themselves  contain  httle 
more  than  faint,  perhaps  unconscious  intimations  of  the  position  which 
fchey  were  destined  to  occupy."  ..."  The  canon  grew  silently  undei 
the  guidance  of  an  inward  instinct,  rather  than  by  the  force  of  exter- 
nal authority." — Small's  Diet,   of  Bible,  Article    "  Canon  of  Soript 


192  GOOD   JUDGMENT   NOT   INFALLIBILITY. 

i  0-day,  by  fallible  churcbes  wbo  differ  grievously  in  tlieir  sev- 
('tal    constructions   of    its   meanings.     Nor   bave    Protestant 


i^r<3."  Books,  wbicb  finally  came 'to  be  deemed  apocryphal  or  spurious, 
held  doubtful  places  for  a  time.  The  epistles  of  Barnabas  and  Clem- 
ent, tbe  Sbepberd  of  Hennas,  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  are  all  more  oi 
less  quoted  or  referred  to  by  tbe  Fathers.  Tbe  epistle  to  tbe  Laodieeana 
was  frequently  interpolated  in  Jerome's  Yulgate.  Some  books  tbat  are 
now  lost  had  currency  in  early  apostolic  days,  as  tbe  Gospel  according 
to  the  Hebrews,  that  according  to  tbe  Egyptians,  and  (in  tbe  Marcion 
Canon)  the  "  Gospel  of  Christ."  Some  now  found  in  our  own  canon, 
as  the  Apocalypse,  the  second  and  third  epistles  of  John,  tbe  epistles  of 
James  and  Jude,  but  especially  tbe  second  epistle  of  Peter,  were  more 
or  less  questioned,  and  were  omitted  by  various  councils.  .  Gradually 
the  canon  approached  its  present  form.  The  Council  of  Hippo  (A.  D 
393)  accepted  nearly  all ;  and,  twelve  years  after  Jerome's  Latin  ver- 
sion bad  appeared,  the  Council  of  Carthage  (A.D.  397)  admitting  He- 
brews, completed  tbe  Testament  as  we  now  bave  it.  A  decree  of  Pope 
Innocent  I. ,  confirming  their  selection,  finally  decided  tbe  canon  of  the 
Latia  Church. 

In  aU  this  there  seems  to  bave  been  very  good  judgment  exercised. 
Jerome  was  probably  tbe  most  trustworthy  translator  of  the  Patristic 
age.  And  as  to  tbe  canon,  tbe  gold  appears  to  bave  been  substantially 
separated  from  the  alloy.  One  finds  nothing  of  value  in  the  extracts 
remainrag  of  the  lost  books ;  and  one  caimot  read  the  other  rejected 
Scriptures  without  a  conviction  tbat  they  were  utterly  unworthy  of 
admission.  Tbe  noble  purity  of  tbe  Parthenon  is  not  more  impressive 
when  compared  with  some  whimsical  abortion  of  the  Cinque-cento,  than 
are  tbe  grand  simpHcity  and  intrinsic  power  that  speak  from  tbe  synop- 
tical gospels,  when  set  side  by  side  with  the  childish  crudities  that  dis- 
figure, for  example,  the  Arabic  story  called  "  Tbe  Infancy,"  or  the 
bungling  narrative  enriched  with  a  famiMar  talk  between  Satan  and 
Hades,  tbat  has  been  saddled  on  poor  Mcodemus.  It  is  apparent  that 
internal  evidence  chiefly  governed.  Thus  we  may  ascribe  to  the  Coun- 
cil of  Carthage  sound  discretion  in  her  selection. 

But  judgment  in  translating,  discretion  in  selection,  is  one  thing,  and 
infallibility  altogether  another.  The  Romish  Church  affirms  that  tbe 
translator  was  selected,  and  the  final  canon  determined,  each  by  tbe  ac- 
tion of  an  infallible  Pope  ;  one  can  understand  that :  but  how  orthodox 
Protestantism  can  seriously  assert  that  her  chain  of  mf  aUible  testimony 
touching  our  present  Bible  as  the  unalloyed  Word  jf  God,  is  unbroken 


INSTRIICTIONS.  193 

chuTclies  retained  the  promised  spiiitual  gifts — the  mii-ainiloua 
stamp  of  the  Infallible. 

This  being  the  Catholic  vie"w,  can  we  wonder  that  wanderers 
from  the  Roman  fold,  when  they  found  nothing  but  dim  uncer- 
tainty in  a  heretic  world,  returned  repentant  to  St.  Peter's 
arms  ? 

This  will  occur  again  and  again ;  a  numerous  class  will  go 
on  believing  in  the  Infallible;  the  Catholic  Church,  surviving 
reverse  after  reverse,  may  continue  to  grow  and  prosper 
for  generations  still,  as  during  this  very  century  she  has 
grown  and  prospered,  her  professors  outnumbering  more  than 
lliree  to  one  the  members  of  all  other  Christian  sects,*  unless 

from  Christ's  day  until  ours,  must  remain  a  mystery  to  all  who  are 
guided  by  sound  principles  of  evidence. 

To  us,  readers  of  the  Authorized  Version,  there  are  superadded  dif- 
ficulties that  complicate  the  situation.  King  James,  as  director  of  that 
translation,  and  whom  the  translators  address  as  ' '  that  august  person, 
enriched  with  singular  and  extraordinary  graces,"  that  had  appeared 
"  like  the  sun  in  his  strength,"  sent  to  each  translator  fifteen  instruc- 
tions, including  a  command  that  ' '  the  old  ecclesiastical  words  should 
be  kept."  Was  the  pedant-Mng  infallible?  Yet  his  instructions  un- 
doubtedly determined  the  translation  of  many  all-important  words. 
Hades  and  dunamis  included.  Whenever  a  modem  revision  is  con- 
scientiously executed,  the  first  of  these  words  will  not  be  rendered  Jidl^ 
nor  the  second  mirade. 

*  The  successes  and  reverses  of  Protestantism  as  against  Catholicism, 
and  the  ascendancy  still  maintained  by  the  latter,  have  been  set  forth 
at  length  in  the  Prefatory  Address  prefixed  to  this  volume,  section  2, 
and  to  which,  if  he  has  not  read  it,  I  beg  to  refer  the  reader. 

And  see  note,  there  given,  in  proof  that,  in  Europe,  the  CathoHo 
Church  (including  the  Greek  and  Eastern)  numbers  nearly  two  hun- 
dred and  twelve  million  votaries  (211,899,500);  while  the  Protestants 
amount  to  but  a  trifle  over  sixty-eight  millions  (68,028,000) :  in  other 
words,  that  less  tJian  one-fourth  of  the  Gliristians  in  Europe  are  Protes- 
tants; also  that  the  Catholic  Church  agrees,  in  essential  doctrine,  ^vith 
the  Greek  and  other  Eastern  Churches,  except  on  one  point :  the  latter 
attributing  to  (Ecumenical  Councils  the  infallibility  which  by  the  for- 
mer is  ascribed  to  the  Pope — ^both  believing,  therefore,  in  the  existence, 
at  the  present  day,  of  human  inf alUbility. 


/ 


194  FAITH   IN   IMMORTALITY   INDISPENSABLE. 

rtiere  be  found  outside  of  infallibility  conclusive  e  vide  ace 
touching  a  world  to  come.  Men  can  cheerfully  dispense  "with 
the  dogmatic  mysteries  which  have  formed  part  of  all  infal- 
lible creeds;  they  can  be  thoroughly  happy  and  contented, 
though  the  inscrutable  enigma  of  the  Divine  Hypostasis  remain 
forever  unsolved ;  but  they  cannot  be  happy,  they  cannot  be 
contented,  in  ignorance  of  the  Great  Future ;  they  cannot  dis- 
pense with  faith  in  immortality. 

So  universal,  so  deep-rooted  in  man's  heart  is  this  sentiment, 
that,  if  the  sole  alternative  be  between  Roman  Catholicism  and 
Materialism,  Catholicism  will  be  the  popular  choice.  In  other 
words,  the  masses  will  resist  the  tendency  of  the  age  to  discard 
the  doctrine  of  a  direct  revelation  from  God,  unless  it  can  be 
shown  that  spiritual  knowledge,  including  proof  of  immortality, 
can  come  to  man,  like  physical  knowledge,  mediately,  in  virtue 
of  natural  law. 

I  think  the  reader  who  may  have  followed  me  to  this  point 
will  begin  to  perceive  why  I  attach  so  much  importance  to  the 
phenomena  of  modern  Spiritualism.  If  these  prove  genuine, 
then  we  can  obtain,  outside  of  InfalKbility,  conclusive  evidence 
of  another  world.  If  these  are  realities,  then  we  have  found 
pi  oof  that  spiritual  knowledge  may  be  received,  like  earthly 
knowledge,  intermediately;  namely,  through  beings  who  were 
once  like  ourselves. 

And  thus  the  harmony  of  the  Divine  Government  will  be 
illustrated  in  one  of  its  most  important  relations  to  man. 
For  it  will  appear  that,  without  violation  or  suspension  of  the 
great  law  of  mediate  agency,  God  brings  immortality  to  light ; 
affording  man  perennial  aid  in  educing  conceptions  of  the  next 
world,  as  He  has  guided  him,  from  discovery  to  discovery,  in 
the  arts  and  sciences  of  this. 


CHAPTEK  IL 

OP  MEDIATE   SPIRITUAL  REVEALINGS. 

*'  Religious  dogmatism  is  losing  all  liDld  of  the  most  living  and  earn* 
est  intelligence  everywhere.  ...  A  second  Calvin  in  theology  is  impos- 
sible. Men  thirst  not  less  for  spiritual  truth,  but  they  no  longer  be- 
lieve in  the  capacity  of  system  to  embrace  and  contain  that  truth,  as  in 
a  reservoir,  for  successive  generations.  They  must  seek  for  it  them- 
selves afresh  in  the  pages  of  Scripture  and  the  ever-dawning  light  of 
spiritual  life,  or  they  will  simply  neglect  and  put  it  past  as  an  old 
story.  "—TULLOCH.  * 

"  It  needs  no  diviner  to  tell  us  that  this  century  will  not  pass  without 
a  great  breaking  up  of  the  dogmatic  structures  that  have  held  ever 
since  the  Reformation  or  the  succeeding  age." — Shairp.  f 

"  We  are  arrived  visibly  at  one  of  those  recurring  times  when  the  ac- 
counts are  called  in  for  audit ;  when  the  title-deeds  are  to  be  looked 
through,  and  established  opinions  again  tested.  It  is  a  process  which 
has  been  repeated  more  than  once  in  the  world's  history ;  the  last  occa- 
sion and  greatest  being  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  : 
and  the  experience  of  that  matter  might  have  satisfied  the  most  timid 
that  truth  has  nothing  to  fear,  and  that  rehgion  .emerges  out  of  such 
trials  stronger  and  brighter  than  before." — Froude  :  Criticism  and  the 
Gospel  History. 

"  Daughter  of  Faith,  awake,  arise  !  illume 
The  dread  Unknown,  the  chaos  of  the  tomb  !  " — Campbell, 

If  the  views  set  forth  in  the  preceding  chapter  be  just,  the 
present  aspect  of  religion  throughout  Christendom  may  be  thus 
sketched. 

Infallibility  is  still  the  ruling  element,  counting  its  nominal 
votaries  by  hundreds  of  millions. 

*  Leaders  of  the  Befornfiation^  London,  1869,  p.  169. 

f  Culture  and  Religion,  by  J.  C.  Shairp,  Principal  of  the  United 
College  of  St.  Andrews  (reprinted  from  the  Edinburgh  Edition,  New 
York,  1871) ;  p.  128.     A  noteworthy  book. 


196  A  THEED  ELEMENT  EMEBGE8. 

There  is  a  manifest  tendency,  however,  in  the  present  age, 
to  discredit  the  supernatural,*  including,  under  that  term,  noi 
only  miracles  and  infallible  revelation,  but  all  ultramundana 
agencies  of  a  spiritual  character :  and  this  sceptical  element  has 
rudely  shaken  both  the  plenary  infallibility  of  Catholicism  and 
the  limited  infallibility  of  Protestantism. 

But  the  inroads  of  this  rationalistic  tendency  are  constantly 
repelled  by  a  popular  conviction,  that  to  abandon  infallibility 
is  to  surrender  also  all  assurance  of  another  and  a  better  world. 
Thus,  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  human  instincts  attracts  and 
attaches  millions  to  the  infallible  school. 

So  long  as  these  were  the  only  two  elements  engaged,  there 
was,  substantially,  but  a  single  alternative  offered  to  the  seeker 
after  religious  truth — the  choice  between  infallibility  (in  one  or 
other  of  its  phases),  on  the  one  hand,  and  some  one  among  the 
various  shades  of  Unbelief,  on  the  other. 

But  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  there  has  emerged 
to  public  view  in  distinct  form,  from  that  phenomenal  field 
where  Science  has  won  all  her  victories,  a  third  element; 
namely  the  belief  in  the  epiphanies  f  of  Spiritualism  ;  in  other 
V7ords,  in  intermediate  spiritual  revealings,  with  no  claim  to  in- 
fallibility save  this,  that  they  supply  positive  proof  of  a  life  to 
come. 

It  is  evident  that  if  there  be  such  proof  to  be  found,  outside 
of  direct  infallible  revelation,  and  if  that  proof  is  derived  from 
actual  phenomena,  then  the  belief  in  such  phenomena,  as  it 
gradually  spreads,  will  take  a  prominent  place  among  religious 

*  This  tendency  is  fully  and  ably  illustrated  iu  two  modem  works  by 
Lecky  :  Baiionalism  in  Europe  (New  York  Ed.  1866) ;  and  European 
Morals  (New  York  Ed.  1870). 

f  This  is  one  of  those  ecclesiastical  terms  which,  through  restricted 
usage,  come  to  lose,  for  the  careless  reader,  their  original  signification. 
Usually  employed  to  designate  the  Church  festival  commemorating 
the  Magian  journey  to  Bethlehem,  one  almost  forgets  that  the  word, 
derived  from  epiphaveia',  means  simply  an  appearance  or  phenomenon, 
and  is  strictly  appropriate  in  designating  spiritual  manifestations. 


BATIONALISM   SHOULD   AOOEPT  SPIEITUAIISM.  197 

creeds.  To  deny  that  this  belief  is  entitled  to  such  a  place  is 
virtually  to  assert  that  it  matters  little  whether  man  obtaina 
positive  assurance  of  a  life  beyond  the  grave  or  not. 

Such  a  belief  has  the  elements  of  a  universal  creed ;  or  rather 
it  is  fitted  to  inspire  into  all  creeds  an  active  principle — a 
living  spirit ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  eflfectually  defeats  the 
claim  which  any  one  Church  may  set  up  to  sole  religious  au- 
thority in  virtue  of  her  possession  of  spiritual  powers  and  gifts 
which,  she  asserts,  are  to  be  found  nowhere  save  within  her 
di\'inely-favored  precincts. 

Iiifallibihty  cannot  object  to  such  a  belief  that  it  neglects  the 
one  thing  needful,  or  fails  to  bring  immortality  to  light ;  for 
no  religion  professed  by  man  can  supply,  as  spiritual  researches 
do,  proofs  patent  to  the  senses,  and  potent  to  convert  mere 
hope  of  another  world  into  certainty  of  its  existence. 

Rationalism  cannot  object  to  it  that  it  contravenes  the  doc- 
trine of  law ;  for  its  phenomena  occur  strictly  under  law :  nor 
yet  that  it  assumes  the  existence,  in  spiritual  matters,  of  that 
direct  agency  of  God  which  the  naturalist  finds  nowhere  in 
physical  afiairs ;  for  its  revealings  come  to  man  mediately  only  : 
nor  yet  that  it  is  dogmatic,  or  exclusive,  or  intolerant,  as  In- 
fallibility is ;  for  its  adherents  adduce  experimental  evidence, 
open  to  all  men  and  gleaned  after  the  inductive  method,  for  the 
faith  that  is  in  them :  nor,  in  fine,  that  it  ignores  progress,  as 
Infallibility  does ;  seeing  that  it  is  ever  freshly  vivified  and 
cheered  by  the  ceaseless  illumings  of  spiritual  life. 

Still  less  can  the  Bible  student  object  that  he  finds  no  Scrip- 
tural warrant  for  such  a  belief.  If  there  be  one  distinct  prom- 
ise made  by  Jesus  to  his  followers,  it  is,  that  spiritual  signs 
should  follow  those  who  believed  in  his  words ;  *  that  they 
should  do  the  works  that  he  did,  and  greater  works  also ;  f  that 
his  apostles  could  not  bear  the  whole  truth,  so  that  he  had  to 
leave  many  things  unsaid ;  and  that,  after  his  death,  that  spirit 
which  pervaded  his  Hfe — the  spirit  of  truth — should  still  bring 

*  Mark  xvi.  17,  18  ;  and  other  texts.  f  John  xiv.  12. 


198  WHY  CAME   SPmiTUALISM   SO  LATE? 

comfort,  comnninicating  with  them,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world ;  *  mediately  teaching  them  what  he  had  left  un- 
taught, f  So  also  Paul.  Can  injunction  be  more  positive 
than  his  to  seek  after  spiritual  gifts  ?  J 

These  are  strong  claims.  Against  them  will,  of  course,  be 
set  up  the  popular  objection  to  all  things  novel.  Why  dow,  at 
this  age  of  the  world  ?  Why  not  sooner,  long  ago,  centuries 
since  ?  In  reply  one  might  suggest  that  the  Atlantic  has  al- 
ways been  there,  though  thousands  of  years  elapsed  ere  a 
Columbus  adventured  its  passage.  One  might  ask  when  the 
diurnal  motion  of  the  earth,  when  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
when  the  fall  of  aerolites,  was  first  accepted  as  truth  by  sci- 
ence. But  I  rest  not  the  case  in  generahties  like  these.  I 
believe  that  Spiritualism,  in  its  present  phase,  could  not  have 
been  the  growth  of  an  age  much  earlier  than  our  own. 

— In  its  present  phase.  In  distorted  form  it  has  appeared, 
from  time  to  time  in  past  ages,  to  the  terror  and  the  unutter- 
able suffering  of  the  world.  The  holiest  things  are  the  most 
deadly  when  they  are  profaned. 

"Ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  In  these  words  we  may 
find  the  clue  to  the  late  appearance  of  modern  Spiritualism. 
Certain  debasing  superstitions  had  to  disappear  before  the 
world  was  worthy  of  it.  The  letter,  which  killeth,  had  itself 
to  die,  and  the  spirit  which  giveth  life  had  to  replace  it,  before 
the  wiser  and  the  better  portion  of  those  who  have  gone  before 
us  could  find  such  sympathy  as  would  attract  them  to  earth, 
and  meet  such  reception  here  as  would  justify  their  efforts  to 
enlighten  us. 

Take  a  notable  example  of  the  letter  which  killeth :  the  old 
belief  in  the   personal  existence   of  a  Great   Spirit  of  Evil, 

*  Matthew  xxviii.  20, 

f  John  xvL  12,  13.  If  any  one  objects  to  the  words  used  above— 
*'  mediately  teaching  them  " — let  him  refer  to  the  text,  where  he  will 
find  the  remarkable  expression  :  "he  shall  not  speak  of  himself,  bal 
whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shaU  he  speak." — v.  13. 

X  1  Corinthians  xii.  31,  and  xiv.  1,  2. 


EFFECT  OF   BELIEF  IN    THE  DEVIL.  199 

roaming  the  world  in  search  of  whom  he  might  devour ;  the 
earliest  and  crudest  of  the  various  human  fantasies  that  have 
been  suggested  by  the  perception  of  evil  in  the  world,  coupled 
with  a  desire  to  explain  the  cause  of  its  existence.  In  the  ex- 
ordium to  that  sublimest  among  ancient  Oriental  fragments  of 
philosophy,  the  Book  of  Job,  occurs  a  brief  narrative  which 
modem  critics  begin  to  treat  as  mere  allegory.  Not  so  the 
theological  mind  of  past  times.  To  our  ancestors,  if  they  ac- 
cepted the  Bible  at  all,  it  was  literal  truth.  They  believed 
that  Satan,  just  returned  from  going  to  and  fro  on  the  earth, 
presented  himself  one  day,  among  the  Sons  of  God,  to  the 
Lord ;  and  that,  being  allowed  after  some  conversation  with 
the  Almighty,  to  afflict  Job,  he  destroyed  that  good  man's  sub- 
stance and  slew  his  children.  They  believed  that,  on  another 
day,  the  Devil,  again  by  God's  permission,  "  smote  Job  with 
sore  boils  "  from  head  to  foot. 

So,  in  the  New  Testament  also.  The  belief  of  the  orthodox, 
even  to-day,  is  that  the  Devil,  taking  Jesus  up,  set  him,  first  on 
a  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  then  on  an  exceeding  high  moun- 
tain whence  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  may  be  seen ;  there 
seeking  worship  from  him  :  while  less  literal  Christians  regard 
this  as  a  parable  only,  informing  us  that  Christ  was  tempted 
as  we  are,  yet  without  sin. 

Now,  so  long  as  a  belief  in  a  personal  devil  pervaded  Chris- 
tendom, spiritual  agency  assumed  forms  that  were  hideous  in 
proportion  to  the  hideousness  of  the  belief  that  engendered 
them.  Faith  which,  in  its  purity,  has  power  to  remove  moun- 
tains, can  also,  in  its  perversion,  pile  them  up,  Pelion  upon 
Ossa.  In  spii'itual  matters,  to  a  certain  extent,  we  receive  what 
we  expect :  sympathy  being  a  ruling  element.  Whether  we 
fearfully  deprecate,  or  recklessly  invoke,  a  Spirit  of  Evil,  spirits 
\)i  truth  will  not  answer  to  our  call.  They  have  still  enough 
of  human  nature  about  them  to  decline  communication  with 
those  who  take  them  for  devils. 

In  ages  of  the  world  when  the  popular  mind  was  imbued 
with  the  notion  that  there  exists  around  us  a  hierarchy  ol 


200  POSSESSION  IN  JESUS'   DAT. 

malign  intelligences,  headed  by  the  Prince  of  the  Air,  whose 
agency,  tolerated  by  God,  is  unceasingly  exercised  to  instigate 
man  to  evil,  and  that  these  are  the  only  disembodied  beings 
with  whom  man  is  permitted  to  commune,  the  portals  of  the 
Spiritual  seldom  opened  except  to  give  exit  to  frightful  errora 
and  delusions.  In  those  days  that  subtle  power  {dunamis  was 
the  Evangelists'  term  for  such),  corresponding  doubtless,  in  a 
measure,  to  Eeichenbach's  sensitivity/  *  and  now  spoken  of  among 
us  as  mediumshipy  rarely  gave  birth  save  to  monstrosities,  such 
as  are  usually  known  under  the  names  of  Sorcery  and  Witch- 
craft :  superstitions  only  the  more  dangerous  and  horrible  be- 
cause there  was  a  Small  amount  of  reality  underlying  the  terri- 
ble phantom-shapes  they  assumed. 

There  was,  in  Jesus'  day  and  long  before,  as  there  still  is, 
a  certain  spiritual  condition  which  may  be  termed  possession. 
It  was  a  disease  usually  induced,  in  some  sensitive  organiza- 
tions, by  deluding  opinions  or  impotence  of  will ;  its  slender 
basis  of  reality  being  a  mental  influence  usurped  by  departed 
spirits  of  a  degraded  order,  while  its  vast  mediaeval  super- 
structure was  reared  by  imagination  running  wild  under  the 
terrors  of  a  pernicious  faith.  This  disease  was  aggravated  by 
harshness,  diffused  by  persecution,  intensified  by  torturings. 
It  could  be  cured,  like  other  phases  of  lunacy,  only  by  charita- 
ble judgment,  and  gentle  firmness ;  but  believers  in  remedies 

*  For  a  new  occasion  I  originate  a  new  word.  By  sensitivity  I  des- 
ignate that  gift  or  faculty  possessed  by  Reiclienbacli's  Sensitives,  and 
to  which,  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  I  have  alluded.  A  careful  perusal 
of  the  German  naturaLLst's  works  on  this  subject,  namely  Untersuchung- 
en  uber  die  Dynandde^  Brunswick,  1850,  and  Der  Sensitive  Mensc\ 
Stuttgart  and  Tubingen,  1854,  has  conviaced  me  that  he  has  fully 
made  out  both  the  existence  of  a  new  power  or  faculty  possessed  by  a 
certain  portion  of  mankind,  and  the  importance  of  studying  it.  The 
former  of  these  works  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Ash- 
burner  (London,  1850),  Reichenbach's  works,  though  they  created, 
at  the  time  they  appeared,  considerable  excitement  throughout  Ger- 
many, and  some  stir  among  us,  have  never  attracted  the  attention 
which  they  dop.erve,  and  which,  some  day,  they  will  obtain. 


OEIGm  OF  WrrOHCBAFT.  201 

so  reasonable  as  these  are,  with  one  illustrious  exception,  but 
of  modern  times.  The  unutterable  woes  and  atrocities  *  which 
followed  directly  or  indirectly,  partly  from  the  belief  in  a 
devil,  partly  from  the  abnormal  influence  referred  to,  exemplify 
the  great  truth  that  from  the  same  source  may  proceed  healing 
or  pestilence,  happiness  or  misery,  just  as  its  waters  are  kept 
pure  by  enlightened  care,  or  adulterated  by  the  frenzy  of  ignc 
ranee. 

The  eminent  exception  above  referred  to  seems  to  have  been 
little  noted  or  understood  by  those  who  are  wont  to  seek  mys- 
teries and  miracles,  rather  than  law-governed  spiritual  phe- 
nomena, in  the  Gospels. 

Among  the  thousand  illustrations  of  the  notorious  persistence 
with  which  men  and  nations  professing  Christianity  have 
directly  contravened  the  spirit  of  its  Founder,  is  the  popular 
belief  in  witchcraft,  cropping  out,  more    or   less  frequently, 

*  In  an  interesting  chapter  on  Sorcery  and  Witchcraft,  Lecky  says  : 
"  Tens  of  thousands  of  victims  perished  by  the  most  agonizing  and  pro- 
tracted torments,  without  exciting  the  faintest  compassion.  (?)  .  .  . 
In  almost  every  province  of  Germany,  but  especially  where  ecclesiasti- 
cal influence  predominated,  the  persecution  raged  with  a  fearful  inten- 
sity :  seven  thousand  victims  are  said  to  have  been  burnt  at  Treves.  .  .  . 
In  France  decrees  were  passed  on  the  subject  by  the  Parliaments  of 
Paris,  Toulouse,  Bordeaux,  Rheims,  Rouen,  Dijon,  and  Rennes,  and  they 
were  all  followed  by  a  harvest  of  blood.  The  executions  which  took 
place  in  Paris  were,  in  the  emphatic  words  of  an  old  writer,  '  almost 
infinite.'  ...  In  Italy  a  thousand  persons  were  executed  in  a  sin- 
gle year  in  the  province  of  Como  ;  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country  the 
severity  of  the  inquisitors  at  last  created  an  absolute  rebellion  :  etc." — 
Bationulism  in  Europe,  vol.  i.  pp.  28-31. 

This  persecution  was  by  no  means  exclusively  Catholic.  In  Luther'a 
loMe  Talk,  under  date  August  25,  1538,  we  find  this  :  "  The  talk  faU- 
ing  on  witches  who  spoil  eggs,  etc.,  Luther  said  :  '  I  should  have  no 
compassion  on  these  witches;  I  would  bum  aU  of  them.'" — p.  251. 
And  Calvin,  in  remodelling  the  laws  of  Geneva,  left  those  which  con- 
demned witches  to  the  stake  unaltered. 

In  accordance  vnih.  such  opinions  we  find  that,  in  England  and  Scot 
land  after  they  became  Protestant,  witches  were  pursued  at  times,  es 
pedally  dming  the  seventeenth  century,  with  an  ahnost  InsaTie  fury. 
9* 


202  CHEIST  HAD  NO  BELIEF 

throiigliout  fifteen  Christian  centuries,  *  the  popular  abhorrence 
of  supposed  witches,  and  the  incredible  cruelty  with  which  these 
poor  wretches  have  been  treated.f  We  have  every  reason  to 
infer  that  Christ  himself  did  not  believe  in  a  personal  devil. 
When  he  used  the  word  devil  or  Satan  he  commonly  employed 
it  J  to  designate  either  error  or  wickedness  in  man,  or  else  a 

*  There  were  believers  in  witchcraft,  among  Christians  as  well  aa 
Pag-ans,  at  least  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  third  century  (Middle- 
ton,  pp.  85-87) ;  and  there  are  instances  of  witch-burning  less  than 
a  hundred  years  old :  the  two  latest  examples  being,  probably,  one  in 
Seville,  Spain,  in  1781,  and  (strange  to  say !)  one  in  Glaris,  Switzer- 
land, in  1783 — just  eighty-eight  years  ago.  Men  still  alive  might  have 
witnessed  these. 

f  Readers  who  have  the  heart  to  go  through  the  sickening  details  will 
find  such,  in  authentic  form,  scattered  over  Pitcaim's  Criminal  Trials 
of  Scotland.  It  seems  scarcely  credible  now  that,  in  that  country  of 
strong  hearts  and  strong  prejudices,  less  than  a  suagle  century  ago  (in 
1773)  the  Divines  of  the  Associated  Presbytery  passed  a  resolution  de- 
claring their  faith  in  witchcraft  and  deploring  the  growing  scepticism 
on  that  subject.— -Mac AUL AY:  History  of  England,  vol.  iii.  p.  706. 

X  The  rare  examples  in  which  any  of  the  Evangelists  ascribe  to  Christ 
expressions  which  might  bear  a  different  interpretation  may,  in  virtue 
of  his  uniform  silence  touching  aU  diaboHcal  compacts  or  seductions, 
properly  be  interpreted  metaphorically  (as  "I  beheld  Satan,  as  Hght- 
ning,  fall  from  Heaven," — Luke  x.  18) ;  or  as  simply  meaning  physical 
or  moral  evil ;  thus,  of  the  woman  "  who  had  a  spirit  of  infirmity  and 
was  bowed  together,"  he  says :  "  Ought  not  this  woman,  .  .  .  whom 
Satan  hath  bound,  lo,  these  eighteen  years,  be  loosed  from  this  bond  on 
bhe  Sabbath  day?" — Luke  xiii.  16.  It  will  surely  not  be  held,  that 
Christ  thought,  or  that  we  ought  to  think,  that  whenever  we  have  rheu- 
matism, or  similar  infirmity,  it  is  the  devU's  doing. 

But,  beyond  this,  the  hypothesis  remains  that  the  biographers  of 
Jesus,  how  upright  soever  yet  misled  by  the  spirit  of  their  age,  may  occa- 
sionally have  mistaken  the  import  of  their  Master's  words ;  as,  at  other 
times  (for  example,  Luke  ix.  54),  some  of  the  Apostles  grievously  mis- 
conceived the  spirit  of  his  teachings.  If  we  would  form  a  candid  and 
enlightened  judgment  of  these  marvellous  teachings,  we  must  take  them 
aa  a  grand,  connected  whole,  not  stumble  over  incidental  expressions  a1 
variance  with  their  general  tenor,  and  very  liable  to  have  been  miainter' 
preted. 


IN   COMPACTS   WITH   THE   DEVIL.  203 

debased  condition  in  spirits.  Thus,  to  Peter :  "  Get  thee  be- 
hind me,  Satan ; "  *  and,  of  Judas  Iscariot :  "  One  of  you  is  a 
devil."  f  Thus,  again,  in  the  case  of  the  man  "  possessed  witli 
the  devil,"  his  words  are :  "  Come  out  of  the  man,  thou  unclean 
spuit !  "  I  Not  a  word  of  reproach  to  the  afflicted  ;  not  a  hint 
of  suspicion  that  the  maniac  had  made  a  compact  with  any 
Prince  of  Darkness :'  he  assumes,  simply,  that  a  spirit  or  spirits 
of  a  degraded  order  had  obtained  control,  or  possession,  of  the 
unhappy  creature ;  and,  by  virtue  of  the  power  with  which  he 
himself  was  gifted,  he  compelled  them  to  go  out  of  him.§  Yet 
again,  when  he  warned  his  disciples  against  snares  and  evils  to 
come,  the  warning  was  not  touching  a  devil  who  should  tempt 
them  to  sell  their  souls  to  him  for  worldly  wealth  or  diabolical 
powers  to  injure,  but  touching  false  prophets  who  should  show 
signs  and  wonders,  thereby  seducing  even  the  wisest.  ||  It  was 
a  warning  against  wicked  men,  not  against  fallen  angels — a 
warning  inculcating  the  much-needed  lesson  that  signs  and 
wonders  themselves  are  not  infallible  tests  of  moral  truth. 

Thus,  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  Chiist  saw,  and  habitually 
acted  on,  all  that  there  is  of  truth  underlying  witchcraft,  sor- 

*  Mark  viiL  33.  f  John  vi.  70.  X  Maik  v.  8. 

§  It  is  quite  evident  that  if  we  reject,  as  delusion,  modem  examples 
of  possession  and  exorcism — in  other  words,  if  we  deny  that  inferior 
spirits  from  the  next  world  may  sometimes,  through  the  weakness  or 
credulity  of  man,  obtahi  a  certain  control  over  the  human  will  and  the 
human  thoughts  ;  and  if  we  deny,  further,  that,  ia  such  case,  a  strong, 
magnetic  volition  may  free  the  sufferer  from  such  control— then  we 
must  accept  one  or  other  of  these  alternatives  : 

Either  the  numerous  minutely-detailed  relations  scattered  over  the 
tjospels,  touching  the  "casting  out  of  devils"  by  Christ  and  his  dis- 
ciples, are  all  pure  fables,  throwing  suspicion  upon  the  entire  narrative : 

Or  else  they  refer  to  miracles,  occurring  in  the  first  century  by  sus- 
pension of  law,  and  never  to  occur  again  ;  a  conclusion  which  modem 
civilization,  enhghtened  by  science,  rejects. 

That  is  to  say :  the  enlightened  portion  of  society  must  either  dis- 
credit the  gospel  biographies,  or  accept  the  fact  that  possession  may 
occur,  and  may  be  cured,  in  our  day. 

I  Mark  xili.  22. 


204  CUEING    SPEBITtJAL   DISEASE. 

/  eery,  magic,  the  black  art,  or  by  whatever  name  imaginary 
compacts  with  Satan  may  have  been  called.  He  knew  that 
spirits  of  low  character,  occasionally  obtaining  control  over 
men  and  women,  do  cause  what  we  may  call  spiritual  disease  y 
and  he  instructed  his  Apostles  and  the  Seventy  how  to  cure  it ; 
though  their  power  to  exorcise  was  inferior  to  his.*  When  ho 
found  others,  not  of  his  disciples,  following  the  same  practice, 
he  approved  their  doings.f 

What  thousands  of  lives  might  have  been  saved,  J  what 
countless  torturings  of  soul  and  body  averted,  had  the  Christian 
world,  in  this,  caught  the  spirit,  and  followed  the  example,  ot 
Christ ! 

But  it  is  only  in  modern  times  that  eclectic  searchers  after 
truth,  through  the  study  of  vital  magnetism  and  spiritual  man- 
ifestations, have  come  practically  to  believe,  on  this  subject, 
what  the  Gospels  have  been  teaching,  unheeded,  or  misinter- 
preted, to  fifty  generations  of  men. 

Somnambulism,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  show  by  and  by, 
is  allied  to  mediumship  and  is  governed,  in  a  measure,  by  the 
same  laws.  Among  these  laws  we  find,  by  experience,  the  rule 
that  a  dogmatic  frame  of  mind  imbued  with  false  doctrinoj 
whether  orthodox  or  sceptical,  tends  to  produce  abnormality  in 
the  ideas  received  or  communications  obtained.  Here  is  an 
example  which  I  translate  from  an  accredited  work  on  Animal 
Magnetism,  by  M.  Lamy-Senart,  a  pupil  of  the  Marquis  de 
Puysegur,  the  first  observer  of  Somnambulism. 

"  A  patient  who  had  become  under  my  care  a  lucid  somnam- 
bule  was,  with  my  permission,  magnetized  by  another  person, 
who  readily  cast  her  into  a  magnetic  sleep.  But  this  magneti- 
zer  believed  in  the  Devil  and  his  influence ;  and  he  could  not 
help  thinking  of  this  every  time  he  magnetized.  The  first  day 
the  patient  was  restless  in  her  sleep ;  the  second  she  saw  a  black 

*  Matthew  xvii.  19,  20.  f  Mark  ix.  38,  39. 

X  Averaging'  the  statistics  given  ia  various  histories  of  witchcraft,  it 
would  seem  that  the  number  of  those  who  have  suffered  death  for  ihis 
imaginary  crime  exceeds  thirty  thousand. 


EFFECTS   OF   FAITH   IN  THE  DIABOLICAL.  206 

man ;  the  third  two  presented  themselves,  with  horns ;  tha 
fourth  they  used  threatening  expressions  to  her.  On  the  fifth 
day  it  was  still  worse ;  they  seemed  to  sit  beside  her.  She  rose, 
ton-ificd  and  screaming,  thinking  they  had  assaulted  her ;  rushed 
out  of  the  room  and  into  the  court-yard,  followed  by  her  mag- 
netizer,  who  succeeded  at  last  in  awaking  her.  She  suffered 
cruelly,  complained  of  a  great  weight  on  her  breast,  her  respi- 
ration was  difficult,  and  she  passed  a  frightful  night."  * 

Tliis  narrative  is  very  suggestive.  Though  we  cannot  doubt 
that  imposture,  spurred  on  by  hate  or  malice,  was  an  occasional 
element  in  witch-trials  ;  f  and  though  we  know  that  many  a  con- 
fession, wrung  forth  by  torture,  was  recanted  before  the  sufferer 
was  led  to  the  stake ;  yet  the  general  rule  is  to  be  found  outside 
of  these  incidents. 

A  condition  analogous  to  somnambulism — trance  in  some  of 
its  phases — not  infrequently  supervenes,  without  magnetization, 
in  persons  of  sensitive  temperament  or  secluded  habits,  espe- 
cially when  inordinately  excited.  Taking  this  and  the  phenom- 
enon of  obsession  or  possession  into  account,  and  reflecting  on 
the  probable  power  of  such  influences  in  a  rude  age  when  the 
conception  of  the  Devil  and  his  agency  was  far  more  vivid  and 
influential, — more  constantly  present  to  the  mind  of  the  masses 
— than  the  conception  of  God  and  his  providence,  can  we  won- 
der that  accusers  and  accused  should  frequently  have  been 
moved,  by  honest  illusion — the  former  to  accusations  that  they 
were  diabolically  tormented,  the  latter  to  confessions  that  they 
had  visited  the  witches'  Sabbath  and  witnessed  its  abominations  ? 

*  Bihlaa^Ueque  du  Magnetisme  Ammal,  Cahier  iv.  p.  6,  See,  for  a 
beatific  Vujon,  similarly  suggested,  Footfalls  on  tJie  Boundcury  of  An- 
oilier  World,  p.  142;  note. 

•j  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  imposture  supplies  the  chief  expla- 
nation of  the  witch-mania.  Hume,  writing  of  witchcraft  in  Scotland, 
remarks  :  "Among  the  many  trials  for  witchcraft  which  fill  the  record 
I  have  not  observed  that  there  is  even  one  which  proceeds  upon  the  no- 
tion of  a  vain  or  cheating  art,  falsely  used  by  an  impostor  to  deceive  th« 
weak  and  credulous." — Commentaries  on  tJie  History  of  Scotland^  voL  ii 


206  SALEM  WITCHCRAFT. 

Without  some  such  clue  as  the  above,  how  shall  we  explain 
the  fact  that  judges  so  clear-sighted  as  Sir  Edward  Coke  and 
Sir  Matthew  Hale  recognized  the  reality  of  this  alleged  crinifl 
against  man's  allegiance  to  God? — that  a  jurist  so  eminent  as 
Blackstone  declared  it  to  be  a  "  truth  to  which  every  nation  in 
the  world  hath,inits  turn,borne  testimony?  "  * — that  Sir  Tliomas 
Browne,  physician,  philosopher,  and  scholar,  testified  in  court 
to  the  same  effect ;  that  among  divines  Baxter,  Wesley,  and  a 
host  of  other  worthies  set  forth  elaborate  evidences  of  its  exist- 
ence, and  arguments  for  its  condign  punishment ;  and  that,  in 
our  own  country,  less  than  a  hundred  and  eighty  years  ago, 
thirteen  women  and  six  men  were  hanged  and  one  octogenarian 
died  under  horrible  torture,  all  for  the  alleged  crime  of  witch- 
craft ?  f — these  executions  taking  place  among  a  people  earnest, 

*  Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Aaother  World,  p.  30 ;  note. 

f  A  terrible  summer  for  Salem  village  and  its  vicinity  was  that  of 
x693  ! — a  year  of  worse  than  pestUence  or  famine.  Bridget  Bishop  was 
hanged  in  June ;  Sarah  Good,  Sarah  WUdes,  Elizabeth  How,  Susanna 
Martin,  and  Rebecca  Nurse  in  July ;  George  Burroughs,  John  Procter, 
George  Jacobs,  John  WiUard,  and  Martha  Carrier  in  August ;  Martha 
Corey,  Mary  Easty,  Alice  Parker,  Ann  Pudeator,  Margaret  Scott,  Wil- 
mot  Reed,  Samuel  Wardwell,  and  Mary  Baker  in  September :  in  which 
last  month  Giles  Corey,  eighty-one  years  of  age,  was  pressed  to  death 
under  a  board  loaded  with  heavy  stones ;  not  heavy  enough,  however, 
to  crush  out  life,  until  a  day  or  two  of  lingering  torture  had  intervened. 
Sarah  Good's  daughter  Dorcas,  between  three  and  four  years  old,  or- 
phaned by  her  mother's  execution,  was  one  of  a  number  of  children 
who,  with  several  hundred  other  persons,  were  imprisoned  on  suspicion 
of  witchcraft :  many  of  these  sufferers  remaining  in  a  wretched  condi- 
tion (often  heavily  ironed)  for  months,  some  upwards  of  a  year ;  and 
several  dying  during  the  time.  A  child  of  seven,  Sarah  Carrier,  was 
called  on  to  testify,  as  witness  against  her  mother. 

Some  of  the  condemned,  especially  Rebecca  Nurse,  Martha  Corey,  and 
Mitry  Easty,  were  aged  women  who  had  led  unblemished  lives,  and  were 
conspicuous  for  their  prudence,  their  charities,  and  all  domestic  virtues. 
*'  The  question,"  says  a  painstaking,  modem  historian  of  Salem  witch' 
craft,  "  arises  in  every  mind,  why  did  -not  their  characters  save  them 
from  conviction,  and  even  from  suspicion  ?  The  answer  is  to  be  found 
in  the  peculiar  views  then  entertained  of  the  power  and  agency  of  Sa« 


\ 


A  DANGEEOFS   POPTTLAE  EEEOE.  207 

conscientious,  practical,  and  if  piety  according  to  the  Calnnis- 
tic  acceptation  of  the  term  entitle  to  election,  worthy  to  he 
called  "the  very  elect." 

There  is  another  popular  error,  treated  of  at  large  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages,  of  which  we  must  rid  ourselves,  ere  spiritual  com- 
munications can  be  sought  or  accepted  without  danger.  It  is 
the  mistake  of  supposing  that  because  a  message  or  a  lesson 
comes  to  us  from  a  denizen  of  the  other  world,  it  must,  on  tha  j 
account,  be  infallibly  true.  Death  procures  for  us  higher  pow- 
ers and  clearer  perceptions  ;  it  opens  to  us  a  wider  horizon  and 
discloses  to  us  much  which  we  can  but  dimly  surmise  here  be- 
low :  but  it  does  not  confer  on  us  infallibiKty.  There  is  doubt 
less,  in  the  next  world,  a  more  elevated  range  of  thought  ano 
of  sentiment,  but  there  is  the  same  variety  of  character  as  here  ; 
there  is  diversity  of  opiniox,  too,  though  probably  not  to  the 
same  extent  as  among  us.     All  this  is  proved  by  comparing, 

tan.  .  .  .  Our  fathers  accounted  for  the  extraordinary  descent 
and  incursions  of  the  Evil  One  among"  them,  in  1693,  on  the  supposition 
that  it  was  a  desperate  effort  to  prevent  them  from  bringing  civilization 
and  Christianity  within  his  favorite  retreat,  and  their  souls  were  fired 
with  the  glorious  thought  that,  by  carrying  on  the  war  with  vigor  against 
him  and  his  confederates,  the  witches,  they  would  become  chosen  and 
honored  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God  for  breaking  down  and  abol- 
ishing the  last  stronghold  of  the  Kingdom  of  Darkness." — Upham  :  Sa- 
lem Witclwraft,  Boston,  1867  :  vol.  i.  pp.  393,  394;  and  vol.  ii.  p.  373. 

The  evils  and  miseries  growing  out  of  this  mental  epidemic  are  not 
to  be  measured  by  the  number  of  actual  sufferers,  whether  on  the  scaf- 
fold or  in  loathsome  prison.  "It  cast  its  shadows,"  says  Upham, 
"  over  a  broad  surface,  and  they  darkened  the  condition  of  generations. 
.  .  .  The  fields  were  neglected;  fences,  roads,  bams,  even  the 
meeting-house,  went  into  disrepair.  ...  A  scarcity  of  provi- 
sions, nearly  amounting  to  a  famine,  continued  for  some  time.  Farms 
were  brought  under  mortgage  or  sacrificed,  and  large  numbers  of  peo- 
ple were  dispersed.  One  locality  in  Salem  village  .  .  .  bears  to 
this  day  the  marks  of  the  blight.  .  .  .  The  ruinous  results  were 
not  confined  to  the  village,  but  spread,  more  or  less,  over  the  country." 
^■SalemWitchcraft,  vol.  ii.  pp.  380,  381. 


208  IMPORTANT   WARNINGS   FROM   THE   PAST. 

one  with  the  other,  various  communications,  which  we  ma^ 
have  ascertained,  from  the  attendant  circumstances,  to  be  un* 
questionably  ultramundane.  Many  Spiritualists,  like  their  feL 
low-religionists  of  other  persuasions,  who  do  not  accept  that 
phase  of  belief,  have  this  important  truth  still  to  learn,  and  fof 
lack  of  having  learned  it,  are  often  lamentably  misled.  Belief 
in  infallibility  is  equally  mischievous,  whether  held  by  Calvinist, 
by  Episcopalian,  or  by  Spiritualist.  It  is  almost  as  unsafe  for  a 
dogmatic  infalliblist,  as  for  a  confirmed  devil-fearer,  to  engage 
in  spiritual  research.  It  is  not  desirable  that  the  belief  in 
Spiritualism  should  spread,  except  in  proportion  as  the  belief 
in  Infallibility  dies  away.  Here  we  may  discern  another  rea- 
son why  the  appearance  of  spiritual  phenomena,  in  their  mod- 
ern or  normal  phase,  as  a  universal  religious  element,  has  been 
so  long  delayed. 

The  lesson  taught  by  a  thousand  warnings  from  the  past  ia 
unmistakable ;  and  it  is  of  vital  moment  that  we  heed  it.  It  ia 
dangerous  for  men  and  women  who  are  confirmed  in  certain  old 
superstitions,  or  who  believe  in  their  own  possession  of  infalli- 
ble truth,  to  put  themselves  in  the  way  of  communings  with  a 
higher  sphere  of  being :  they  cannot  bear  them  yet.  We  seek 
aid  or  enlightenment  from  another  world  in  vain,  unless  we 
enter  the  spiritual  school,  not  only  in  a  reverent  spirit,  but  in  a 
fit  frame  of  mind.  We  must  seek  ere  we  find :  and  we  must 
seek  in  that  catholic  temper  which  is  willing  to  put  to  the  proof 
all  things,  and  to  accept  truth,  wherever  found.  It  is  not 
given  to  dogmatism,  shut  up  in  its  contracted  shell,  to  distin- 
guish the  still,  small  voice ;  it  hears  but  the  echo  of  its  own 
delusions.  Except  we  be  converted  from  wisdom  in  our  own 
conceit — except  we  draw  near  to  the  shrine  as  little  children — 
the  spiritual  voices,  in  their  purity,  will  not  reach  our  ears. 

Tt  is  with  the  teachings  of  Spiritualism  as  with  the  praying 
of  men :  they  are  but  mockeries,  unless  approached  in  a  becom- 
ing spirit.* 

*  The  effect  of  levity  in  spiritual  researches  is  not  so  fatal  as  that 
of  dogmatio  superstition  :  none  the  less  its  tendency  ia  to  j)reclnde  all 


A   STEANGE   SPmnTTAL   EXPEEIENCB.  209 

But,  for  the  reasons  above  set  forth,  even  able  searcliers, 
earnestly  and  reverently  prosecuting  inquiries  into  the  charac' 
ter  of  modem  Spiritual  revealings,  if  still  haunted  by  the  idea 
of  Satanic  agency,  may  be  led  into  a  grievous  error,  the  very 
opposite  of  that  which  sets  up  all  Spiritual  messages  as  Gospel 
truths. 

A  noteworthy  example  is  before  me,  in  a  well-known  Euro- 
pean journal.*  I  find  therein  an  editorial,  entitled  Tables 
Toui'TianteSf  in  which  the  writer,  after  alluding  to  the  fact  that 
"  the  marvels  of  magnetism,  or  rather  of  Spiiitualism,  as  the 
Americans  call  it,"  seem  to  be  "  again  coming  into  fashion," 
quotes  from  one  of  the  most  respectable  of  the  Parisian  jour- 
nals, as  follows : 

"  It  wnll  be  remembered,"  says  the  Courrier  de  Paris,  "  that 
a  certain  number  of  French  and  foreign  prelates  thought  it 
their  duty,  about  a  year  ago,  to  interdict  the  practice  of  table- 
moving.  Their  motive,  or  alleged  motive,  was  that  this  prac- 
tice brought  men  into  dangerous  communication  with  the 
spirits  of  darkness.  The  fact  is,  that  most  of  the  spirits  that 
manifested  themselves  through  the  tables  or  under  the  floor, 
when  questioned  as  to  their  identity,  answered,  *  demon,'  *  devil,' 
or  at  least,  *  damned.'  f 

"  One  of  the  most  eminent  and  enlightened  members  of  our 

valuable  or  satisfactory  results.  If  we  enter  a  church  as  we  would 
crowd  into  a  comic  theatre,  or  kneel  in  prayer-meettag  as  we  would  sit 
down  to  a  game  at  cards,  the  exercises  in  either  case  will  probably  not 
tend  mucli  to  edification.  Spiritualism  is  not  intended  to  make  sport 
for  graceless  idlers  at  an  evening  party  :  and  if  to  them  it  furnish,  but 
platitudes,  inanities — buffooneries  even — what  is  this  but  the  natural 
result  of  misplaced  merriment  and  thoughtless  irreverence  ? 

Yet  even  at  such  disadvantage,  it  has  happened,  from  tim  3  to  time, 
that  Frivolity  was  startled  out  of  her  heedlessness — the  poet  3  line  being 
realized — 

"  And  fools,  who  came  to  scoff,  remained  to  pray."  ^ 

*  Le  Nord^  published  at  Brussels ;  No.  185,  of  date  July  4,  1857.  / 

f  My  experience  is  the  reverse  of  this.     Throughout  the  many  hun*     f 
dred  sittings  at  which  I  have  assisted,  no  such  replies  were  ever  elicited 


210  MISTAKE   OF   THE   BISHOP   OF   RENNES. 

hierarchy,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Rennes,  had  thought  it  his  diity^ 
for  his  own  personal  edification,  to  institute  some  experimenta 
with  the  tables ;  but  he  reached  a  result  which  caused  him  i  o 
abandon  the  practice.     It  was  as  follows : 

"  The  Bishop,  the  Yicars-General,  and  his  Canons  having  as* 
sembled  at  the  Episcopal  palace,  interrogated  a  table  as  to  the 
fate  and  the  sufierings  of  a  young  and  generous  missionary 
who  had  recently  sufiered  martyrdom  in  China.  The  Bishop 
had  with  him,  as  a  relic,  a  fragment  of  the  bloody  shirt  of  this 
devoted  and  unfort\inate  soldier  of  the  faith.  Was  this  the 
talisman  that  operated  ?  We  cannot  tell.  Suffice  it  that  the 
table  set  about  relating,  in  its  language  ("  en  sa  langue,"  mean- 
ing, probably,  by  raps),  and  with  a  most  startling  fidelity,  the 
whole  history  of  the  agonies  and  tortures  of  the  courageous 
missionary ;  all  circumstances  well-known  to  most  of  the  assist- 
ants. The  Bishop,  on  his  part,  was  so  much  struck  by  it,  that, 
interrupting  the  proceedings,  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice :  *  To 
know  all  that,  thou  must  be  the  Devil.  Well !  if  thou  art  the 
Devil,  by  the  omnipotent  God,  by  Jesus  Christ  crucified,  I  ad- 
jure thee,  I  summon  and  command  thee,  to  break  thyself  in 
pieces  at  my  feet.' 

**  Instantly  the  table  made  a  great  spring ;  and,  falling  back 
obliquely,  broke  off  two  of  its  legs,  dropping  at  the  feet  of  the 
Lord  Bishop  of  Rennes. 

**  It  is  not  our  intention,"  adds  the  Cov/rrier^  "  either  to 
explain  or  to  call  in  question  the  incident  we  have  related. 
Only  let  our  readers  be  assured  that  we  have  invented 
nothing.  The  fact  has  been  certified  to  us  by  witnesses  the 
most  respectable  and  the  most  trustworthy.  And,  for  the 
rest,  it  is  well-known  that  we  are  not  among  the  number  ot 
those  who  lend  themselves  to  the  circulation  of  fables,  or  would 
put  forth  a  profane  jest  at  the  expense  of  the  revered  name  wq 
have  just  cited." 

This  anecdote  may  call  forth  a  smile,  but  it  has  its  serious 
aspect.  The  Bishop,  convinced  from  the  manifestations  that  ai* 
occult  intelligence  is  communicating,  takes  it  for  granted  thai 


EREOES   IN  ROMAN   EITtTAL.  211 

because  that  intelligence  accurately  discloses  a  variety  of  facta 
connected  with  the  martyrdom  of  a  missionary,  it  must  be 
Satan  himself  ;*  thereupon  he  addresses  it  as  such.  But  the;^ 
who  assume,  in  advance,  the  question  they  propose  to  investi- 
gate, are  in  no  fit  frame  of  mind  to  enter  upon  such  investiga- 
tion at  all.  Nor  will  any  intelligent  Spiritualist  be  surprised 
at  the  issue  of  the  episcopal  experiment :  the  case  thus 
prejudged,  some  such  result  might  have  been  predicted. f  For 
there  are  recorded  cases  of  analogous  character.  There  occurred 
a  century  and  a  half  ago  at  Epworth  parsonage,  the  paternal 
home  of  tht  celebrated  John  Wesley,  loud  knockings  and  other 
strange  distui'uances  continued  for  two  months,  and  which  Dr. 
Adam  Clarke,  in  his  biography  of  the  Wesley  family,  regards 

*  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  tests  of  Demon  agency  set  forth  in 
the  Boman  BituM^  and  with  the  practice  of  the  Cathohc  Church. 
Among  the  signs  of  possession  there  designated,  is  the  "  disclosing  of 
distant  and  hidden  things."  "  Signa  autem  obsidentis  daemonis  sunt : 
Ignota  lingua  loqui  pluribus  verbis,  vel  loquentem  intelligere  :  distantia 
et  occulta  patefacere,"  etc. — Rituale  Romanum  (Mechliniae,  1856),  p. 
514,  Cap.  "  De  Exorcizandis  obsessis  a  Dsemonio." 

But  every  weU-inf  ormed  student  of  vital  Magnetism  knows  that  clear- 
sight  (clairevoyance)  and  far-sight  (vue  a  distance)  are  phenomena  of 
frequent  occurrence  during  somnambulism ;  to  say  nothing  of  medium- 
ship.  To  regard  these  as  Satanic  powers  is  no  whit  more  rational  than 
to  declare,  as  men  did  five  hundred  years  ago,  that  the  experiments  of 
the  laboratory  are  unlawfuL  In  Chaucer's  tale  of  the  Chanon  Yeman, 
chemistry  is  spoken  of  as  an  elfish  art,  conducted  by  aid  of  spirits  :  a 
superstition  of  Arabian  origin,  Warton  says. —  Warton^s  History  of  Eng- 
lish Poetry^  vol.  i.  p.  169. 

f  Those  who  have  assisted  frequently  and  under  various  circumstances 
at  such  sittings,  know  weU  that  the  table — meaning,  thereby,  the  invisi- 
ble intelligence  which  manifests  its  presence  by  rappings,  tiltings,  rais- 
ing of  the  table  and  other  sounds  or  movements — often  exhibits,  in  the 
most  unmistakable  manner,  human  emotions  ;  and  none  more  plainly 
than  indignation  (as  by  violent  jerkings  or  stampings),  when  the  phe- 
nomena are  treated  with  ridicule,  or  ascribed  to  Satanic  agency.  That 
this  frequently  occurs  under  circumstances  which  preclude  all  possibil*  I 
ity  of  trickery,  any  careful  and  persevering  observer  may  readily  ascei^ 
tain  for  himself.     I  have  myself  witnessed  it,  on  various  occasions,       / 


212  THE   DEMONIAC    TUEORY 

as  Spiritual  manifestations  connected  with  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Samuel  Wesley's  brother  in  India.  *  Emily  Wesley  writing 
the  details  to  her  brother  John,  after  declaring  that  a  month's 
experience  had  thoroughly  convinced  her  that  trickery  was  im- 
possible, adds :  "  As  for  my  mother,  she  (at  first),  firmly  be- 
lieved it  to  be  rats,  and  sent  for  a  horn  to  blow  them  away. 
I  laughed  to  think  how  v/isely  they  were  employed  who  were 
striving  half  a  day  to  fright  away  Jeffrey  (for  that  name  I  gave 
it)  with  a  horn.  But  whatever  it  was,  I  perceived  it  could  be 
made  angry ;  for  from  that  time  it  was  so  outrageous,  there  wa^t 
no  quiet  for  us  after  ten  o'clock  at  night.  ...  It  was 
more  loud  and  fierce,  if  any  one  said  it  was  rats  or  anything 
natural."  f 

It  "  could  be  made  angry,"  Emily  Wesley  said.  So,  probably, 
could  the  spirit  addressed  by  the  French  Bishop,  when  mistaken 
by  him  for  the  devil.  Or  that  spirit  might  have  departed  and 
another  suddenly  taken  its  place.  Abundant  facts  indicate 
(though,  in  advance  of  experience,  one  might  reject  such  an 
idea)  the  frequent  agercy  of  a  somewhat  singular  class  of 
spirits;  as  imps,  we  might  say,  of  frolic  and  misrule;  not 
wicked,  it  would  seem,  or,  if  wicked,  restrained  from  inflicting 
serious  injury,  but,  as  it  were,  tricksy  elves,  sprites  full  of 
pranks  and  levities — a  sort  of  Pucks, — "  esprits  espiegles,''''  as 
the  French  phrase  it ;  or  as  the  Germans,  framing  an  epithet 
expressly  for  this  supposed  class  of  spirits,  have  expressed  it, 
^^ poller geistery  J 

Whether  the  Rev.  Charles  Beecher,  a  Congregational  clergy- 
man of  our  own  country,  has  had  any  experience  similar  to  that 

*  Memoirs  of  the  Wesley  Family^  by  Adam  Clarke,  LL.D.,  F.A.S.  ; 
London,  1843  ;  vol.  i  pp.  288,  289.  That,  also,  was  Mrs.  Wesley's 
final  opinion.  All  the  details  will  be  found  in  these  Memoirs,  pp.  245- 
291. 

f  Memoirs  of  the  Wesley  Family^  vol.  i.  pp.  271,  272. 

:|.  FootfaUs  on  the  Boundary  of  AnotJier  World,  p.  212.  For  ex- 
amples of  the  agency  of  such  spirits  see  Book  lii.  chap.  2  of  that 
volume. 


18    CNPHILOSOPHICAL.  213 

of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Rennes,  I  know  not.  Certain  it  is,  he 
reaches  tho  conclusion  that  all  modem  spiritual  revealings  come 
through  the  Powers  of  Darkness,  and  that "  we  are  entering  on 
the  first  steps  of  a  career  of  demoniac  manifestations,  the  issues 
whereof  man  cannot  conjecture."  *  A  similar  mistake  was  ■ 
mode  in  Jerusalem  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  When  the 
people  witnessed  the  "  signs  and  wonders  "  wrought  by  Jesus, 
they  "  were  amazed  and  said,  '  Is  not  this  the  son  of  David  ?  ' 
But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  it,  they  said,  '  This  fellow  doth 
not  cast  out  devils  but  by  Beelzebub,  the  Prince  of  tho 
devils.' "  t 

It  does  not  seem  to  have  suggested  itself  to  the  Pharisees, 
nor  to  Mr.  Beecher,  that  all  analogy  is  opposed  to  such  an  ex- 
planation of  spiritual  phenomena.  In  this  world  God  does  not, 
indeed,  shut  his  creatures  away  from  earthly  influences  tending 
to  deception  and  to  error.  But  the  good  is  the  rule ;  the  evil 
(often  good  in  disguise)  is  but  the  exception.  If  it  enter  into 
God's  economy  to  permit  evidences  and  influences  to  come  over 
to  us  from  a  higher  phase  of  being,  are  we  to  believe  that  He 
excludes  from  these  all  that  is  true  and  good,  and  sufiers  only 
deceptions  and  false  teachings,  emanating  from  the  devil  and 
his  angels,  to  reach  us?  Is  this  the  doing  of  a  Father,  whose 
"  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  other  works  "  ?  If,  in  very 
deed,  such  were  the  Divine  plan,  then — adopting  the  lines  of  a 
modem  poet — 

"  Then  God  would  not  be  what  this  bright 
And  glorious  universe  of  Hi  a — 
This  world  of  wisdom,  goodness,  light 
And  endless  love  proclaims — He  is." 

If  we  listen  to  sober  reason,  she  teaches  us  that,  as  from  this 
world,  so  from  the  other,  there  are  richly  furnished  to  us  the 
elements  of  truth  and  the  means  of  happiness.     If  we  fail  to 

*  Review  of  Spiritual  Manifestations,  read  before  the  Congregational  \, 

Association  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  chap.  vii.  (p.  65  of  Lonion  Ed.  i 

1853).  ! 

f  Matthew  xjL  23,  24. 


214  PHASES   OF   BELIEF   IN   CHRISTENDOM. 

interpret  the  revealings  from  Heaven  or  to  avail  ourselves  o4 
the  teachings  from  earth,  it  is  not  by  the  Divine  fiat  except  r 
far  as  this,  that  God  has  made  wisdom  and  peace  obtainab' 
only  through  virtuous  exertion,  and  that  He  has  interposed  no 
segis  to  protect  man  from  the  natural  results  of  his  inexperience 
and  of  his  misconceptions. 

The  following  table  may  be  useful  in  exhibiting,  in  a  general 
way,  the  main  varieties  of  religious  opinion  throughout  the 
Christian  world ;  and  the  position  which,  according  to  the  pre- 
ceding views,  modern  Spiritualism  occupies  among  them  : 


CHIEF   PHASES   OP   RELIGIOUS    BELIEF   IN   CHRISTENDOM. 

I.  School  of  Secularism^  namely : 

a.  Radical :  Materialists  *  denying  a  Hereafter, 
h.  Conservative :  Sceptics,  doubting  a  Hereafter. 

II.  School  of  Infallibility,  namely : 

a.  Pure :  Catholics,  including  Greek  and  Eastern  Churches. 
h.  Mixed :  Main  body  of  Protestants. 

III.  School  of  Spiritualism,  namely : 

a.  Exclusive :  Orthodox  Quakers  and  Swedenborgians,  retaining 
element  of  infallibility. 

h.  Universal :  Modem  Epiphanists,  f  rejecting  element  of  infal- 
Ubility. 

In  elucidation  of  the  above  table  I  offer  a  few  remarks. 

*  I  here  employ  the  term  materialist  in  its  popular  sense,  to  mean  a 
person  who  believes  the  soul  to  be  merely  a  quality  appertaining  to  our 
vital  existence  here,  which  can  have  no  existence  separate  from  the 
body,  ar)d  which  ceases  to  be  as  soon  as  earthly  life  is  extinct. 

Whether,  in  scientific  strictness,  materiahsm  must  be  taken  to  mean 
a  doctrine  which  is  inconsistent  with  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  I  need 
not  here  stop  to  inquire. 

f  For  a  new  occasion  I  may  be  allowed  to  coin  an  appropriate  word. 
Spiritual  EpipJianist  accurately  designates  a  beUever  in  spiritual  appear 
ances  cr  manifestations. 


SECULARISM.  tdl^ 

(I.)  I  employ  the  term  Secularism,  rather  than  that  of 
nationalism,  as  more  correctly  designating  the  creed  of  those 
who  believe  it  to  be  the  part  of  "svisdom  that  we  restrict  our 
attention  to  secular  affairs  and  physical  studies,  and  that  we 
refrain  from  the  investigation  of  religion,  seeing  that  man  can 
find  no  solid  ground  for  any  spiritual  belief.  Rationalism  is 
not  so  much  a  creed  as  a  cast  of  thought.* 

The  age  of  radical  Secularism  is  passing  away :  it  has,  at  the 
piesent  day,  no  distinguished  leader ;  and  probably  never  will 
have  again.  If  a  second  Calvin  is  impossible,  so  also  is  a  sec- 
ond Voltaii'e. 

On  the  other  hand,  conservative  Secularism,  seeking  religious 
rest  but  finding  none,  is  steadily  increasing.  It  includes  within 
its  ranks  some  of  the  most  eminent  scientific  men  of  our  day, 
large  numbers  from  the  medical  and  legal  professions  and 
among  politicians ;  together  with  some  worthy  and  respected 
divines,  f      Especially   among   English   artisans   and   working 

*  Lecky  defines  it  to  be  "  a  bias  of  reasoning  which  has  during  the 
last  three  centuries  gained  a  marked  ascendency  in  Europe.  .  .  . 
It  leads  men  on  all  occasions  to  subordinate  dogmatic  theology  to  the 
dictates  of  reason  and  of  conscience,  and,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
greatly  to  restrict  its  influence  upon  life.  It  predisposes  men,  in  his- 
torj%  to  attribute  aU  kinds  of  phenomena  to  natural  rather  than  mirac- 
ulous causes  ;  in  theology,  to  esteem  succeeding  systems  the  expressiona 
of  the  wants  and  aspirations  of  that  religious  sentiment  which  is  planted 
in  all  men ;  and,  in  ethics,  to  regard  as  duties  only  those  which  con- 
science reveals  to  be  such.'' — History  of  RatioTialism  in  Europe,  voL  i. 
pp.  16,  17  (of  New  York  Ed). 

\  A  few  years  since  I  had  a  long,  quiet  conversation  with  a  Bishop,  who 
is  held  in  deservedly  high  estimation  by  the  orthodox  body  of  Christiana 
to  which  he  belongs.  He  introduced  the  subject  of  modem  Spiritual- 
ism, and  I  asked  him  in  what  light  he  regarded  its  phenomena.  He 
answered  frankly  and  satisfactorily.  Evidences  of  infidelity,  he  said, 
were  multiplying  among  us :  he  had  lately  heard  a  professor  of  Har- 
vard College  express  the  opinion  that  three-fourths  of  the  scientifio 
men  of  our  day  are  unbelievers,  and  that  scepticism  is  beginning  to  in- 
^Jiide  among  the  clergy.  He  told  me  that  he  himself,  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore, had  visited  the  death-Vjed  of  an  aged  brother  in  the  ministry ;  a 


216  SECULARISM   IN   ENGLAND. 

classes  generally,  this  passive  phase  of  irreligioii  has,  of  late 
years,  made  rapid  strides.* 

man  who  had  devoted  a  long  life,  with  rare  faithfulness,  to  the  duties 
of  liis  profession.  As  they  spoke  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity  a 
shade  o^  sadness  passed  over  the  dying  man's  face  :  "  Ah  !  Bishop,"  he 
Baid,  "  the  proof,  the  proof  !    If  we  only  had  it !  " 

These  and  simUar  erperiences  had  led  the  Bishop  to  beUeve  that  the 
evidences  of  a  future  life  which  satisfied  our  ancestors  are  insufScient 
to  convince  some  of  the  most  honest  and  able  of  their  descendants. 
Looking  around  for  the  remedy,  he  had  asked  himself  if  it  would  not, 
in.  God's  good  time,  be  vouchsafed.  "  I  look  anxiously,"  he  added,  "  to 
Spiritualism  and  its  phenomena  for  the  answer." 

*  The  British  government,  alive  to  a  sense  of  the  important  aid  which 
civilization  may  derive  from  accurate  statistics,  employed,  in  making 
out  the  Census  of  1851,  a  staff  of  forty  thousand  persons,  and  obtained, 
incidentally,  much  valuable  information  on  religious  matters.  The 
results  are  condenp od  in  an  official  Report  on  Religious  Worship  made, 
Ln  1853,  to  the  Eegistrar-General.  The  Reporter  states  (p.  58)  that 
while  among  th«  upper  classes  in  England  and  Wales  "  a  regular  church- 
attendance  is  now  ranked  among  the  recognized  proprieties  of  life,"  it 
is  the  great  body  of  the  people  who  chiefly  absent  themselves  from 
public  worship.  He  goes  on  to  say,  as  to  artisans  and  other  workmen  : 
"  From  whatever  cause, — in  them  or  ^in  the  manner  of  their  treatment 
by  religious  bodies — it  is  sadly  certain  that  this  vast,  intelligent,  and 
gxowingly  important  section  of  our  countrymen  is  thoroughly  estranged 
from  our  religious  institutions  in  their  present  aspect.  .  .  .  Proba- 
bly the  prevalence  of  infidelity  has  been  exaggerated,  if  the  word  be 
taken  in  its  popular  meaning,  as  implying  some  degree  of  intellectual 
effort  and  decision ;  but,  no  doubt,  a  great  extent  of  negative,  inert  in- 
difference prevails,  the  practical  effects  of  which  are  much  the  same. 
There  is  a  sect,  originated  recently,  adherents  to  a  system  called 
"  Secularism  ;"  the  principle  tenet  being  that,  as  the  fact  of  a  future 
life  is  (in  their  view)  at  all  events  susceptible  of  some  degree  of  doubt, 
while  the  fact  and  the  necessities  of  a  present  life  are  matters  of  direct 
sensation,  it  is  therefore  prudent  to  attend  exclusively  to  the  concerns 
of  that  existence  which  is  certain  and  immediate — not  wasting  energies 
required  for  present  duties  by  a  preparation  for  remote,  and  merely 
possible,  contingencies.  This  is  the  oreed  which  probably  with  most 
exactness  indicates  the  faith  which,  virtually  though  not  prof essedlj^  ia 
entertained  by  the  masses  of  our  working  population." — Report  on 


A   GOLDEN   OPPORTUNITY   LOST.  217 

(II.)  Except  in  restricting  the  attribute  of  infalKbility  to  the 
Church  speaking  through  QEcumenical  Councils,  and  in  steadily 
rejecting  the  supremacy  of  the  Koman  Pontiff,*  the  variations 
in  doctrine  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  branches  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  are  non-essential ;  consisting  chiefly  in  this,  that, 
while  admitting  church  traditions,  the  seven  sacraments,  a  mild 
phase  of  original  sin,  and  an  intermediate  state,  the  Oriental 
Churches  scruple  about  a  Purgatory  with  flames  and  the  efficacy 
of  private  masses  for  the  dead,  f  and  (dropping  the  JUioque  of 
the  Council  of  Constantinople)  hold  that  the  Holy  Ghost  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Father  only. 

With  variances  in  doctrine  so  inconsiderable,  the  Greek  and 
Roman  Churches,  after  their  eight  centuries  of  separation, 
might,  in  a  tolerant  age  like  this,  have  united  their  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  millions  of  believers  in  one  vast,  harmonious 
body,  had  the  present  Pope  but  pursued  a  conciliatory  line  ol 
poKcy.  A  few  timely  concessions  to  the  spirit  of  the  age 
would,  at  this  juncture,  have  incalculably  strengthened  the 
Papal  influence.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  In  December,  1867, 
the  Austrian  Government  passed  a  law  declaring  freedom  of  re- 
ligious opinion,  with  liberty  of  the  press ;  and  granting  to  all 

Rdigious  Worship  made  by  Horace  MajSTN,  barrister  of  Lincoln's  Inn, 
to  the  Registrar-General,  under  date  December  8,  1853. 

For  a  statement,  from  the  same  Census,  of  tbe  average  attendance 
at  churcli  or  chapel,  as  ascertained  on  a  particular  Sunday  all  over 
England  and  Wales,  showing  how  small  that  attendance  is,  especioMy  in 
free-seated  churches^  see  note  on  preceding  page  159. 

*  As  to  the  tenets  of  the  Greek  Church,  Mosheim  says  :  ' '  The  Holy 
sScriptures  and  the  decrees  of  the  first  seven  (Ecumenical  Councils  are 
acknowledged  by  the  Greeks  as  the  rule  of  their  faith.  It  is  received, 
however,  as  a  maxim  established  by  long  custom,  that  no  private  per- 
son has  a  right  to  explain,  for  himself  or  others,  either  the  declarations 
of  Scripture,  or  the  decisions  of  these  Councils  ;  and  that  the  Patriarch, 
with  his  brethren,  are  alone  authorized  to  consult  these  oracles  and  de- 
clare their  meaning." — Mosheim  :  EccL  Hist.  iii.  483,  484. 

f  Thus  incurring  the  anathema  of  Rome  :    "Si  quis  dixerit  Missae 
lacrificium  .   .    .    non  pro  defunctifl  offerri  debere  :  anathema  sit." — 
ConciL  Trident :  cap.  vs..  can.  3. 
10 


218  THE   BJPE   AND   THE   AUSTRIAN    3J0VEBNMENT. 

sects  the  right  of  establishing  schools  and  colleges  and  of  teach- 
ing their  own  tenets  there.  This  was  followed,  in  May,  1868, 
by  another  statute,  legalizing  civil  marriage,  and  transferring 
from  the  ecclesiastical  to  the  civil  authorities  the  general 
supervision  of  public  instruction.  This  enlightened  policy 
proved  deadly  offence  at  Kome.  The  Pope  delivered  an  Allo- 
cution (June  2,  1868),  in  which  he  took  occasion  to  "  reprove 
and  condemn  those  abominable  laws,"  as  in  flagrant  contradic- 
tion to  the  Catholic  religion,  the  power  of  the  Apostolic  See 
and  "natural  right  itself;"  and  went  on  to  declare  the  said 
laws  null  and  void.  Austria  replied  that  the  Holy  See  was 
» extending  its  strictures  to  objects  not  within  its  jurisdiction; 
and  added :  "  We  shall  none  the  less  persevere  in  the  way  we 
have  begun."     A  powerful  empire  virtually  lost  by  this  ! 

Then  followed  the  Council  of  the  Vatican.  To  this  the  l'a,tri- 
archs  and  Bishops  of  the  Greek  Church  were,  indeed,  invited  ; 
but  the  invitation  was  coupled  with  the  odious  reminder  that 
their  Church,  in  seceding  from  that  of  Rome,  had  been  se- 
duced "  by  the  infernal  arts  and  machinations  of  him  who 
plotted  in  Heaven  the  first  schism ; "  in  plain  terms,  that  they 
— the  said  Patriarchs  and  Bishops — were,  so  long  as  they  re- 
mained insubordinate  to  Papal  authority,  the  spiritual  agents 
of  the  Devil. 

Protestants,  too,  were  exhorted  to  return  to  the  ancient  fold  ; 
but  what  availed  exhortation  or  invitation  to  them  from  an 
Ecclesiastical  Sovereign  who,  as  we  have  seen,*  set  out  by  an- 
nouncing that  he  himself  was  infallible  and  that  all  the  dogmas 
he  might  dictate  were  ^*  irreformable ;  "  following  this  up  by  a 
curse  denounced  against  all  who  should  prosecute  scientific  re- 
searches beyond  the  limits  of  Roman  Catholic  permission. 

But  for  these  capital  errors,  the  "  Holy  Catholic  Church  " 
might  not  only  have  reclaimed  the  Eastern  branch,  but  possi- 
bly have  added  twenty  millions  more  to  her  adherents ;  thua 
massing  three  hundred  million  souls  under  her   ecclesiastical 

*  See  preceding  page  42. 


ANGLICAN   AND   GEEEK  CHtTECHES.  219 

Stat  (lard:  for  one  of  the  Protestant  sects  lias  recently  made 
t^ertain  advances  (which  have  been  favorably  met)  to  the  Ori- 
ental branch  of  Catholicism. 

In  the  year  1867,  the  Pan- Anglican  Synod  caused  to  be 
transmitted,  through  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  the 
Patriarchs  and  Bishops  of  the  Greek  Church,  a  Pastoral  Let- 
ter, setting  forth  the  faith  of  the  Anglican  Church  and  express- 
ing, in  general  terms,  a  wish  to  harmonize  and  a  hope  "  that 
there  may  be  '  one  flock  and  one  shepherd.'  "  This  being  re- 
ceived favorably  and  with  profound  respect,  by  the  Prelates  of 
the  Greek  Church,  *  was  followed  up,  in  the  Convocation  of 
Canterbury,  assembled  July  4,  1868,  by  a  Report  declaring  the 
object  to  be,  not  a  submission  of  either  Church  to  the  other, 
nor  a  modification  of  their  respective  services  so  as  to  conform, 
but "  simply  the  mutual  acknowledgment  that  all  Churches  which 
are  one  in  the  possession  of  a  true  Episcopate,  one  in  sacraments 
and  one  in  their  creed,  are,  by  their  union  in  their  common 
Lord,  bound  to  receive  one  another  in  full  communion  in 
prayers  and  sacraments  as  members  of  the  same  household  of 
faith."  The  Convocation,  accepting  this  Report,  instructed 
its  President  to  open  negotiations  with  the  Eastern  Patriarchs 
and  Metropolitans,  with  a  view  to  the  establishment  of  such 
relations. 

A  movement  among  ourselves  in  sympathy  with  this  and  re- 
sembling the  Tractarian  agitation  which  originated  at  Oxford  in 
1833,  f   has   already   produced   considerable   excitement.     Its 

*  The  Rev.  Mr.  WiUiams,  an  English  clergyman,  stated,  at  a  meeting 
of  the  "Eastern  Church  Company  "  held  in  1867,  that  he  had  conversed 
with  the  Patriarchs  of  Constantinople,  Antioch,  and  Jerusalem,  who  had 
expressed  their  entire  approbation  of  the  union  ;  that  the  Patriarch  of 
Antioch  proposed  to  establish  a  school  with  a  Professor  of  English,  as 
preparation  for  it,  and  that  the  Metropolitan  of  Scio  had  declared  to 
him  his  conviction  that  the  time  for  such  a  union  had  arrived. — See 
i'-^Iiem's  Ecclesiastical  Almanac^  1869,  pp.  23,  24. 

f  Lecky  says  of  the  English  Tractarian  movement:  "It  produced 
a  defection  which  was  qxiite  imparalleled  in  magnitude  since  that  which 


220  GREEK  AND  ROMAN  CHURCHES. 

character  may  be  gleaned  from  a  pamphlet-volume  of  sermons 
delivered  three  years  since  by  Dr.  Ewer,  Rector  of  Christ 
Church,  New  York ;  in  which  the  ground  taken  is  that  the 
Episcopal  Church  always  has  been  a  branch  of  the  one  Holy 
Catholic  Church,*  infallible  f  and  blessed  with  Apostolic  succes- 
sion :  denying,  however,  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman  Pontiff, 
holding  each  brancli  of  the  Catholic  Church,  La,tin,  Greek,  or 
Anglican,  to  be  independent ;  and  admitting  that  extrinsic 
abuses  had  overtaken  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  title  of  Dr. 
Ewer's  second  sermon.  The  Anglican  Church  not  Protestant^ 
sufficiently  marks  the  position  which  its  author  assumes. 

The  later  developments  from  Rome  e^ddently  destroy  all 
hope  of  Catholic  union  except  between  the  Greek  and  Anglican 
Churches;  and  thus,  by  lack  of  temper  and  judgment  on  the 
part  of  her  most  powerful  branch,  the  School  of  Infallibility 
has  lost  the  golden  opportunity  of  a  gigantic  union.  Is  there 
not  a  great  truth  underlying  the  text  that  God  maketh  the 
wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him  ? 

I  have  already  J  noticed  an  enlightened  movement  in  the 
Anglican  Church ;  a  movement  opposed  to  Literalism :  opposed 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Miraculous ;  opposed,  in  a  general  way, 
to  the  dicta  of  the  Infallible  School.  It  is  steadily  gaining 
ground  and  has  evidently  the  virtual  support  of  the  British 
Government.     Its   leaders   have   all  maintained   their  official 

had  taken  place  under  the  Stuarts  ;  and  which,  unlike  the  former  move- 
ment, was  altogether  uninfluenced  by  sordid  considerations." — JRation- 
alism  in  Europe^  vol.  i.  p.  174. 

*  Dr.  Ewer  appeals  to  the  Apostles'  Creed,  forming  part  of  the  Even- 
tag  Service  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  wherein  we  read  :  "I  believe  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the  Communion  of  Saints, 
etc."  In  that  which  is  occasionally  substituted  for  it  the  words  are  : 
"  I  believe  ia  One  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church." 

f  "  The  very  infallibility  of  the  Bible  demands  the  infalUbility  of 
the  Church;  the  two  stand  or  fall  together." — SevTrwiu  on  the  Failurt 
of  Protestantism  and  on  Gatliolicity^  by  the  Rev.  Ferdinand  C.  Evi-er, 
S.T.D.,  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  New  York  :  sermon  ii.  p.  34. 
X  See  preceding  page  150. 


221 


sfctincliug  and  one  of  its  ablest  exponents  Las  become  Bidiop  oi 
Exeter. 

The  six  or  seven  million  Jews  scattered  over  the  world  musi 
be  included  in  the  School  of  Infallibility. 

Of  the  more  liberal  class  of  Protestants  many,  retaining 
their  denominational  position,  but  rejecting  infallibity,  have  be- 
come Spiritualists.  So  also  have  not  a  few  Catholics.  But  the 
largest  accession  to  the  ranks  of  the  Spiritualists  has  been  from 
the  School  of  Secularism. 

(III).  Two  hundred  years  ago  there  sprang  up  a  remarkable 
sect.  The  people  called  Quakers  were  the  Spiritualists  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Their  Luther  was  George  Fox,  and  their 
Cahin  was  Robert  Barclay,  a  man  of  some  distinction,  who 
was  appointed  Governor  of  New  Jersey.*  Barclay's  "  Apology  " 
was  as  much  the  acknowledged  text-book  for  the  Quakerism  of 
his  day,  as  was  Calvin's  "  Institutes "  the  code  of  sixteenth- 
century  Protestantism. 

The  fundamental  doctrine  of  this  people  was  that  an  inward, 
saving  light,  or  spirit  of  truth,  promised  by  Christ,  and  emanat- 
ing iinmediaiely  from  God,  is  the  supreme  rule  of  faith :  this 
liglit,  oi*  spirit,  coming  to  all  men  who  resist  it  not,  and  moving 
them  to  virtue  and  good  works. f    To  the  Heathen  and  the  Gen- 

*  In  1682 ;  but  he  served  by  deputy  only. 

-j-  The  Apology  (a.d.  1675),  comprehending  fifteen  Propositiona 
(Theses  Theologicae),  and  copious  commentaries  thereon,  was  originally 
written  in  Latin,  but  afterward  translated  by  its  author  into  English, 
and  by  others  into  French,  German,  Spanish,  and  Dutch.  I  quote  from 
an  American  reprint  of  Barclay's  Enghsh  version,  Philadelphia,  1805  : 

' '  The  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  that  alone  by  which  the  true  knowl- 
edge of  God  has  been,  is,  and  can  be  only  revealed.  ...  By  the 
revelation  of  the  same  Spirit  He  hath  manifested  Himself  all  along  unto 
the  sons  of  men,  both  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles ;  which  revela- 
tions of  God  by  the  Spuit,  whether  by  outward  voices  and  appearances, 
dreams,  or  inward  objective  manifestations  in  the  heart,  were  of  old  the 
formal  object  of  their  faith,  and  remain  yet  so  to  be." — Pnyposition  ii., 
p.  17. 


222  QUAEEK  DOCTRINES   IN 

tiles  of  old,  as  to  us  of  to-day,  tMs  personal  revelation  Las  beei 
given ;  and  all  who  have  acted  up  to  the  light  within,  even 
though  they  had  never  heard  of  Christ,  are  thereby  justified  and 
saved.* 

Barclay  alleges  that  this  inward  light  never  contradicts 
either  natural  reason  or  Scripture ;  the  teachings  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles  being  a  declaration  by  the  Spirit,  and  to  be  rever- 
enced accordingly.  Nevertheless,  the  light  within  is,  to  each 
man,  the  primary  law,  while  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  esteemed 
a  secondary  rule  only.f 

A  singular  element  pervaded  this  fait"h.  It  ignored  the 
lively,  the  humorous,  the  esthetic ;  it  forbade,  not  plays  and 
dancing  alone,  but  music,  whether  vocal  or  instrumental.  It 
interdicted  all  games,  sports,  pastimes  ;  even  laughter  and  jest ; 
holding  the  fear  of  God  to  be  the  proper  recreation  <of  man ; 
and  restricting  "  lawful  divertisements  "  to  visiting,  reading 
history,  speaking  soberly  of  past  or  present  events,  gardening, 
geometrical  and  mathematical  studies,  and  the  like.  Adopting 
Calvin's  sumptuary  principles,  it  enjoined  grave  simplicity  and 
strict  economy  in  dress,  and  declared  that  for  Christian  women 
to  plait  their  hair  or  wear  ornaments  was  unlawful.^ 

*  "Both  Jew  and  GentUe,  Scythian  or  Barbarian,  of  whatever 
country  or  kindred,  .  .  .  may  come  to  walk  in  this  hght  and  be 
saved."— pp.  209,  210.  "  The  outward  knowledge  of  Christ's  death 
and  sufferings  .  ,  .  we  willingly  confess  to  be  very  profitable  and 
comfortable,  but  not  absolutely  needful  unto  such  from  whom  God 
himself  hath  withheld  iV—Prop.  vl.,  p.  123. 

f  "  The  Scriptures  of  truth  .  .  .  are  only  a  declaration  of  the 
fountain,  and  not  the  fountain  itself,  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  es- 
teemed the  principal  gxoimd  of  all  truth  and  knowledge,  nor  yet  the 
idequate  primary  rule  of  faith  and  manners:  nevertheless,  as  thai 
which  giveth  a  true  and  faithful  testimony  of  the  first  foundation,  they 
are  and  may  be  esteemed  a  secondary  rule." — Prop,  iii.,  p.  81. 

I  "  Games  and  sports,  plays,  dancing,  .  .  .  consist  not  with  th« 
gravity  and  godly  fear  which  the  Gospel  calls  for." — pp.  550,  556. 
"  As  to  their  artificial  music,  either  by  organs  or  other  instruments  oi 
voice,  we  have  neither  example  nor  precept  for  it  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment."— p.  433.     "Laughing,  sporting,  jeptting,  etc.,  is  not  Christiar 


thejor  original  form.  223 

The  first  outbreak  of  Quakerism  was  powerful :  despite  bittei 
persecution,  it  spread  rapidly  and  to  remote  regions.  But,  for 
many  years,  it  has  been  stationary  or  declining;  the  total  numbei 
of  Quakers  throughout  the  world  not  exceeding  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  :  of  whom  .  four-fifths  inhabit  the  United 
States.* 

This  phase  of  Spiritualism  has  its  strong  points  and  its  weak 
ones :  in  virtue  of  the  first  it  made  way  and  prospered ;  by 
reason  of  the  last  it  suffered  arrest  and  decay. 

It  asserted,  in  unqualified  terms,  liberty  of  conscience  for  all 
men  ;  f  it  declared  that  the  Scriptures  are  not  a  finality ;  it  sub- 
ordinated the  old-written  Word  to  the  Spiritual  revealings 
daily  vouchsafed  to  mankind-  daring  opinions  these;  a  noble 
stand  for  the  day  in  which  they  were  announced.  But  it 
fell,  in  a  measure,  into  the  old  error  of  the  infallible ;  for  it 
held  that  the  light  within,  guided  by  which  the  Evangelists 

liberty  nor  harmless  mirth." — p.  529.  "  The  fear  of  God  is  the  best 
recreation." — p.  554.  "Lawful  divertisements "  are  "for  friends  to 
visit  one  another ;  to  hear  or  read  history ;  to  speak  soberly  of  the 
present  or  past  transactions ;  to  follow  after  gardening ;  to  use  geomet- 
rical and  mathematical  experiments,  and  such  other  thiags." — pp.  554, 
555.  "  Christian  women  ought  not  to  use  the  plaiting  of  hair  or  orna- 
ments, etc.  ;  for  the  Apostle  (1  Peter  iii.  3,  4)  condemns  the  use  of 
them  as  unlawful." — p.  549. 

*  In  an  elaborate  paper  (published  1869)  in  the  Westminster  Bem&iB, 
entitled  "  The  Quakers,"  and  evidently  written  by  one  friendly  to  the 
sect,  the  writer  says  :  "  At  the  present  time  there  are  not  more  than 
14,000  Quakers  in  Great  Britain,  and  3,000  in  Ireland;  and  they  have 
at  no  time  exceeded  60,000.  There  arc  scarcely  any  to  be  found  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe. 

Adopting  their  own  estimate,  as  given  in  Schem's  Ecdedastical  Year 
Book  (for  1860,  page  82),  there  are  100,000  Quakers  in  the  United 
States ;  chiefly  in  Pennsylvania  (23,000),  Indiana  (20,000),  Ohio  (14,000;, 
and  New  York  (10,000). 

The  total  throughout  the  world  seems  to  fall  short  of  125,000. 
I  "  The  forciag  of  men's  consciences  is  contrary  to  sound  reason  and 
the  very  law  of  nature.     .     .     .     The  conscience  of  man  is  the  seat 
and  throne  of  God,  of  which  God  is  the  alone  proper  and  infalliblf 
\\idi!ge:'—Apdbgy,  pp.  503,  511. 


*224:  QUAKER   MISTAKES. 

and  Apostles  -wrote,  and  which  comes  to-day  to  every  man  whd 
will  seek  and  receive,  is  a  direct  revelation  from  God  ;  therefore, 
in  all  its  teachings,  unerringly  true.  Hence  great  confusion  ol 
ideas.  For  truth  must  always  be  consistent  with  itself :  but  if, 
at  any  time,  the  light  within  assent  not  to  every  word  of  Scrip 
ture,  then  one  or  other  must  be  at  fault ;  and  this  discordance, 
in  point  of  fact,  does  happen. 

Thus  the  alt«i'native  presented  itself,  to  Quaker  teachers,  eithei 
to  admit  that  the  Scriptures  are  not  infallible,  or  else  to  assume 
as  to  every  man  who  dissented  from  any  portion  whatever  of 
the  written  Word,  that  he  had  not  received  the  true  light.  But 
this  last,  making  man  the  arbiter  of  his  neighbor's  conscience, 
is  a  direct  denial  of  religious  liberty — in  other  words,  it  sub- 
verts the  very  foundation  of  the  original  Quaker  faith. 

The  practical  result  has  been  that  the  orthodox  portion  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  clinging  to  the  literal  infallibility  of  the 
Biblical  Record  and  directly  violating  not  only  the  great  tenet 
of  their  founders,  but  the  express  words  of  Jesus,  "  Judge 
not,  that  ye  be  not  judged" — now  disown  all  those  who  "  deny 
the  divinity  of  Christ  or  the  authenticity  of  the  Scriptures." 
They  require  their  members  to  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
miraculously  conceived  ;  that  we  have  remission  of  sins  through 
his  blood,  that  he  was  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world  and 
now  sits,  as  Mediator  between  God  and  Man,  at  God's  right 
hand.* 

But,  of  course,  a  Spiritual  kingdom  thus  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand.  And  its  decay  has  been  hastened  by  the 
undue  importance  it  attached  to  trifles,  and  its  narrow-minded 
condemnation  of  innocent  gayety  and  wholesome  amusements. 
Many  of  the  liberal  or  Hicksite  branch  of  the  Society  have 
become  Spiritualists. 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  Spiritualism  appeared  under  the 

*  Article  Quakers^  American  Cyclopedia,  vol.  xiii.  This  article  wm 
furnished  to  the  Oyclopedia  as  an  authorized  exposition  of  orthodoa 
Qualcer  doctrine  at  the  present  day. 


SWEDENBOKGIANISM.  225 

form  of  Swedenborgicmism.  From  Quakerism  to  Swedenborg 
iaaism  was  a  great  advance. 

Fox  and  Barclay  did  not  recognize  communion  with  tha 
spirits  of  the  departed,  rigidly  adhering  to  the  doctrine  of  agency 
direct  from  God:  they  still  held  to  the  eld  jViiltonian  idea  of 
angels  created  such  and  of  a  personal  Devil ;  believed  in  a  day 
of  judgment  on  which,  by  the  fiat  of  their  Creator,  one  portion 
of  mankind  was  consigned  to  happiness,  another  to  misery  ;  re- 
garded the  next  phase  of  existence  as  a  life  without  variety  of 
duties  or  of  enjoyments,  and  without  progress — a  life  with  but 
one  avocation  for  each  of  its  denizens — the  constant  exercise  of 
worship  for  the  good,  the  perpetual  endurance  of  torment  for 
the  wicked. 

But  Emanuel  Swedenborg  taught  that  men,  in  this  world, 
can  have  communion  with  spirits  in  the  next,  which  commun- 
ion is  reliable  and  valuable  or  mischievous  and  misleading,  ac- 
cording as  men  are  sensual  and  worldly-minded  or  the  reverse ; 
like  attractmg  its  like  from  the  world  of  spirits  :  *  that  there 
are  no  angels,  created  such,  whether  good  or  bad,  and  of  course 
no  fallen  angels,  nor  any  Satan,  Prince  of  Hell ;  self-love  being 
the  only  Devil :  f  that  men  carry  with  them  to  the  next  world 

*  To  the  Eev,  Arvid  Ferelius  Swedenborg  said,  "  that  every  maa 
might  have  the  same  spiritual  privileges  as  himself,  but  the  true  hin- 
drance is,  the  eensual  state  into  which  mankind  has  fallen. "  To  his 
friend  Robsahm  ."A  man  lays  himself  open  to  grievous  errors  who 
tries,  by  barely  natural  powers,  to  explore  spiritual  things."  Wilkin- 
son, one  of  his  best  biographers,  sums  up  his  views  on  this  subject  thus : 
"  The  reason  of  the  danger  of  man,  as  at  present  constituted,  speaking 
with  spirits,  is,  that  we  are  all  in  association  with  our  likes,  and  being 
full  of  evn,  these  similar  spirits,  could  we  face  them,  would  but  con- 
firm us  in  our  own  state  and  views. " — Wilkinson  :  Emanud  Sweden- 
borg, a  Biography,  London,  1849  :  pp.  156,  225. 

f  "  There  does  not  exist,  in  the  universal  heaven,  a  single  angel  who 
was  created  such  from  the  first,  nor  any  devil  in  Hell  who  was  created 
&Q.  angel  of  light  and  afterwards  cast  down  thither  :  but  all  the  inhabi- 
tants, both  of  Heaven  and  Hell,  are  derived  from  the  human  race. 
.  .  .  The  falsity  of  evil  and  Satan  are  one."  —  SwedenbobQ' 
Heaven  and  Hell,  London  Ed.  of  1851,  pp.  136,  33.  "  There  is  no  par 
10* 


226  WONDEEFUL    C0NCEPTI0i<8 

fche  leading  characteristics  which  distinguished  them  here  ;  * 
that  Heaven  is  reached,  not  by  faith  nor  by  baptism,  but  by  a 
pure  love  of  truth  and  goodness ;  f  that  love  toward  God  and 
the  neighbor  comprises  all  Divine  truth  ;  J  that  there  exists  an 
intermediate  state,  which  men  enter  very  soon  after  death, 
where  they  have  free  liberty  of  choice  either  to  walk  in  the 
paths  which  lead  thence  to  Heaven,  or  to  follow  those  which 
conduct  to  Hell:§  that  God  rewards  no  one  with  Heaven,  nor 
consigns  any  one  to  Hell ;  each  spirit  being  attracted  to  one  re- 
gion or  to  the  other,  according  to  its  ruling  loves,  just  as  men 
and  women  in  this  world  are  drawn  by  their  dominant  desires, 
somo  to  virtuous  associates,  others  to  the  companionship  of  the 
wicked  :  ||  that  all  sufferings  in  the  next  world  are  self-inflicted ; 
self-love  and  worldly-mindedness  ruling  there  and  constituting 
Hell  and  its  flames  :  %  and,  finally,  that  the  duties  and  occupa- 

ticular  Devil  that  is  Lord  la  HeU';  but  self-love  is  so  called." — Swe 
DENBORG  :  Divine  Providence,  London  Ed,  of  1857,  p.  302. 

*  "  The  ruling-  affection  or  love  of  every  man  remains  with  him  after 
death,  and  is  not  extirpated  to  eternity." — Heaven  and  HeU,  p.  167. 

f  ' '  Heaven  is  not  imparted  to  any  one  by  baptism,  nor  yet  by  faith. 
.  .  .  All  reach  Heaven  who  have  loved  truth  and  good  for  their  own 
sake," — Heaven  and  HeU,  pp.  147,  157. 

X  "  Love  to  the  Lord  and  love  toward  the  neighbor  comprehend  in 
themselves  aU  divine  truths." — Heaven  and  HeU,  p.  10. 

§  "  The  world  of  spirits  is  stationed  in  the  midst  between  Heaven 
and  HeU.  .  .  .  All  are  left  to  their  hberty  such  as  they  enjoyed 
while  in  the  world.  .  .  .  Spirits  that  are  good  walk  in  the  ways 
which  tend  toward  Heaven;  while  spirits  that  are  evil  walk  in  the 
ways  that  tend  toward  Hell." — Heaven  and  HeU,  p,  313. 

II  Swedenborg  expressed  himself  on  this  subject  to  Robsahm  thus : 
' '  When  men  first  come  into  the  spiritual  world,  no  one  thinks  of  any- 
thing  but  the  happiness  of  Heaven,  or  the  misery  of  HelL  Soon  the 
jood  spirits  come  to  him  and  instruct  him  where  he  is ;  and  he  is  then 
left  to  follow  his  own  inclinations,  which  lead  him  to  the  place  where 
he  renaius  forever." — Emanuel  Swedenborg,  a  Biography,  p.  102. 

TF  ' '  Not  any,  the  smallest  portion,  of  the  punishments  which  spiriti 
'Undergo  comes  from  the  Lord  ;  but  all  c£  it  from  evil  itself.  .  .  . 
Self -love  and  tbo  love  of  the  world  .     .     .     reign  in  the  hells  and  alsa 


A   HUNDRED  TEAKS   OLD.  227 

tions  of  Heaven  are  not  restricted  to  a  single  rite,  but  are  man- 
ifold and  various,  it  being  a  world  of  activity,  of  progress,  and 
Af  uses  ;  *  and  that  human  affections,  alike  to  God  and  to  hia 
creatures,  are  transferred  thither,  graciously  to  blossom  and  ex- 
pand into  more  than  earthly  beauty  and  purity,  and  to  make 
the  happiness  of  that  genial  paradise  for  evermore,  f 

Grand  conceptions  these !  wonderful  conceptions,  to  ha  ve 
come  to  us  from  the  frigid  North,  through  a  government  Asses- 
sor of  Mines,  J  more  than  a  century  ago.  Golden  conceptions 
which,  had  they  been  laid  before  the  world  unmixed  with  drosa 
and  in  a  lucid,  concise,  practical  manner,  might  already  have 
worked  no  small  revolution  in  Christian  creeds.  But  what  has 
been  their  fate  ? 

ITiough  Swedenborg  was  a  man  of  distinction,  highly  connected, 
in  favor  with  his  government,  invited  to  the  royal  table  and  re- 
garded with  respect,  in  his  own  country,  both  by  ecclesiastics, 
nobles,  and  men  of  science,  §  yet,  aib  the  outset,  Quakerism  (re- 
constitute them.  .  .  .  Infernal  fire,  or  the  fire  of  Hell,  is  the  love 
of  self  and  of  the  world."— J^mae/i  and  HeU,  pp.  285,  389,  298. 

*  "The  occupations  that  exist  in  the  Heavens  .  .  .  are  itinu- 
merable  and  vary,  also,  accordiag  to  the  offices  of  the  various  societies. 
.  .  .  Every  one,  there,  performs  some  use ;  for  the  Lord's  kingdom 
is  a  kingdom  of  uses." — Heaven  and  HeU^  p.  181. 

f  "  All  delights  flow  from  love.  .  .  .  The  delights  of  the  sotd 
or  of  the  spirit  all  flow  from  love  to  the  Lord  and  toward  the  neighbor. 
.  .  .  Li  proportion  as  these  two  loves  are  received  .  .  .  the  soul 
is  turned  o.vcvf  from  the  world  toward  Heaven." — Heaven  and  HdL^ 
p.  185. 

X  Swedenborg,  eminent  as  a  man  of  science,  discharged  during  thir- 
ty-one years,  the  office  of  Assessor  of  the  Board  of  Mines,,  under  the 
Swedish  government.  Li  1 747,  giving  himself  up  to  spiritual  studies, 
he  resigned  the  office ;  but  King  Frederick,  in  consideration  of  his  serv 
ices,  continued  the  full  salary  during  his  life. 

§  Swedenborg  was  a  son  of  the  Bishop  of  Westrogothia,  and  was 
brotiier-in-law  of  the  Archbishop  of  Upsal  and  of  Lars  Benzelstiema, 
Governor  of  a  Province.  He  was  ennobled  by  Queen  Ulrica  Eleonora  in 
1719 ;  and  was  a  member  of  the  Academies  of  Sciences  of  Stockholm 
and  St.  Petersburg.    Li  a  letter  written  from  London,  in  1769,  to  • 


Btricted  as  was  its  sphere  of  influence)  was  a  brilliant  succesi 
compared  to  Swedenborgianism.  During  Swedenborg's  life  he 
does  not  seem  to  have  made  even  a  single  hundred  proselytes ;  * 
and  his  voluminous  folios  obtain  but  a  passing  notice,  here  and 
there,  in  symbolic  history,  f  Even  now,  when  three  or  four 
generations  have  passed,  the  adherents  of  the  Swedish  seer, 
avowed  and  unavowed,  do  not  equal  in  number  those  of  George 
Fox :  "l  a  mere  handful,  one  may  say.  During  a  century  of  ex- 
istence the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  hardly  exerted  a  per- 
ceptible influence  on  the  religious  opinions  of  the  four  hundred 
millions  inhabiting  Christendom.  It  is  chiefly  during  the  last 
twenty  years — and  in  great  part  through  modern  Spiritualism 
— that  the  fundamental  truths  taught  by  Swedenborg  have  been 
gi-adually  coming  to  win  the  ear  and  the  respect  of  the  civilized 
world. 

friend  who  had  asked  particulars  touching  himself  and  his  family  con- 
nections, he  says  :  "  I  am  in  friendship  with  all  the  bishops  of  my  coun- 
try, who  are  ten  in  number,  and  also  with  the  sixteen  Senators  and  the 
rest  of  the  Peers.  .  .  .  The  King  and  Queen  themselves,  and  also 
the  three  Princes,  their  sons,  show  me  all  kind  countenance ;  and  I  was 
once  invited  to  dine  with  the  King  and  Queen  at  their  table." — Letter 
in  London  Ed.  of  1851  of  Heaven  and  Hell,  pp.  51,  52. 

*  And,  ir  Swedenborg's  own  opinion,  his  system  seems  to  have  been 
as  unpopular  in  the  next  world  as  in  this.  When  General  Truxen  asked 
him  how  many  persons  he  thought  there  were  in  the  world  who  favored 
his  doctrine,  he  replied  "  that  there  might  perha/pa  be  fifty ^  and  in  pro- 
portion the  same  number  in  the  world  of  spirits." — Swedenborg^  a  Bi- 
ography^ by  Wilkinson,  p.  236, 

f  Hagenbach  :  History  of  Doctrines,  vol.  ii.  pp.  391,  393,  and  a  few 
others. 

X  Through  the  kindness  of  the  Secretary  of  the  late  General  Confer- 
ence of  American  Swedenborgians,  I  have  (luider  date  January  1,  1871) 
the  following  :  ' '  The  number  of  professed  Swedenborgians — that  is, 
persons  who  openly  and  pubUcly  proclaim  themselves  believers  in  the 
doctrines  taught  by  Swedenborg — in  this  country  is  not,  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  more  than  5,000.  In  Great  Britain  there  are  about  5,000  more, 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  world  about  1,000.  It  is  our  conviction,  hew- 
ever,  that  ten  times  this  number  accept  Swedenborg's  fundameiital 
doctrines,  bat,  for  varioijs  reasons,  say  little  or  nothing  about  it." 


The  dross  was  the  retarding  element.  Swedenborg  fell  deep 
into  the  old,  old  error — the  worst  of  drosses — the  time-honorea 
delusion  of  Human  Infallibility.  He  regarded  himself  as  a 
Spiritual  Ambassador  from  God  to  man;  the  One  specially 
selected  from  the  human  race  to  that  holy  office,  by  the 
Almighty ;  the  first  and  sole  interpreter  of  the  Word  of  God, 
whom  the  angels  themselves  dared  not  instruct  in  biblical 
knowledge,  seeing  that  he  was  taught  and  illuminated  directly 
by  the  Deity  himself.* 

The  Bible — or  the  Word,  as  he  usually  called  itf — he  re- 
garded as  a  species  of  spiritual  palimpsest,  the  original  meaning 
covered  up  from  the  apprehension  of  mankind,  hid  in  \visdom 
among  th3  aagels,  and  the  visible  text  which  overlies  it,  a  series 
of  Celestial  Mysteries,  not  at  ail  to  be  interpreted  as  it  reads  in 
Scripture ;  J  and  to  which,  since  the  words  were  first  penned, 

*  He  wrote  (1769)  to  Dr.  Hartley  :  "  I  have  been  called  to  a  holy  office 
by  the  Lord  himself,  who  most  graciously  manifested  himself  in  person 
to  m3,  his  sorvant,  in  1743."  He  adds  that  "  God  also  opened  his  sight 
to  the  view  of  the  spiritual  world  and  granted  him  the  privilege  of  con- 
versing with  spirits  and  angels." — Emanuel  Swedenborg  (by  Wilkinson), 
pp.  71,  75.  Elsewhere,  speaking  of  his  own  communion  with  God  and 
\vith  the  spiritual  world,  he  says :  ' '  This  has  not  been  granted  to  any 
one  since  the  creation  of  the  world  as  it  has  been  to  me." — Work 
quoted,  p.  206. 

Again,  he  says :  "■  I  have  discoursed  with  spirits  and  angels  now  foi 
several  years  ;  nor  durst  any  spirit,  neither  would  any  angel,  say  any- 
tliing  to  me.  much  less  instruct  me,  about  anything  in  the  Word;  but 
the  Lord  alone,  who  was  revealed  to  me,  and  afterward  continually 
did  and  does  appear  before  my  eyes  as  the  Sun  in  which  He  is,  even  as 
He  appears  to  the  angels,  taught  me  and  illuminated  me." — Divine 
P  rookie  nee  (published  1764),  p.  135. 

f  '•  But  Swedenborg  rejected,  as  not  directly  revealed  by  God,  certain 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and,  of  the  New  Testament,  he  accepted 
the  four  Gospels  and  the  Apocalypse  only,  as  forming  a  portion  of  the 
'  present  Word.'  " — Emanud  SLDedenborg,  a  Biography,  pp.  139,  141. 

X  One  cannot  look  into  some  of  Swedenborg's  works,  especially  hia 
Arccina  Ccslestia,  without  amazement  at  the  character  of  the  ScripturaJ 
intcrpretiitions  that  run  through  them ;  and  one  is  forced  to  the  conclu 
ucHi  that  these  must  bo  acoepted,  if  accepted  at  all,  for  a  single  reason 


230  THE  EEE0E8  WHICH  BETAEDED 

no  living  creature  ever  held  the  secret  key,  till  it  was  entr  asted 
by  the  Creator  of  the  Universe  to  a  Swedish  philosopher.*  No 
candid  student  of  Swedenborg  doubts  his  sincerity.  Beyond 
question,  he  believed  his  "Arcana  Coelestia"  to  be  written 
under  the  unerring  dictation  of  God. 

This  capital  error — greatest  among  all  religious  fallacies  of 
the  past — here  produced,  as  so  radical  an  error  always  pro- 
duces, its  legitimate  results.  Not — strange  to  say  !  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  man ;  it  bred  in  him  no  arrogance  ;  he  retained  his 
modest  simplicity  to  the  last :  the  fatal  influence  was  on  his  sys- 
tem; sapping  its  cogency,  neutralizing  the  virtue  of  its  fine  gold. 

From  another  superstition,  also,  Swedenborg  failed  to  shake 
himself  free :  he  believed,  if  less  rigidly  than  Calvin,  in  the 
original  depravity  of  mankind.f  Hence  his  doubts  whether 
any  of  his  fellow-creatures  were  worthy  to  enjoy  the  spiritual 
intercourse  which  he  felt  to  have  been  granted,  throughout  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  to  himself.  Hence,  too,  his  belief  that 
the  wickedness  of  hell  was  incurable  and  its  punishments  with- 
out end. 

Again,  some  of  the  dogmas  which  he  thought  that  he  had  re- 
borrowed from  one  of  the  old  Grecian,  schools — because  "the  Master 
said  it."  Take  three  or  four  examples,  selected  at  hap-hazard  out  of 
tens  of  thousands.  Cows  signify  "good  natural  affections"  {Divine 
Providence^  No.  326).  A  Iwrse  means  "  the  understanding  of  the  Word 
of  G-od  "  ( True  GJiristian  Religion,  Nos.  113,  277,  etc. ).  Ishmad  to  beget 
twdve  princes  denotes  "the  prunary  precepts  which  are  of  charity" 
{Arcana  Cijdestia,  No.  2089).  Joseph  sold  to  Potiphar  is  to  be  interpreted 
to  mean  "  the  alienation  of  Divine  truths  by  scientifics  "  {Arc.  Codest,^ 
No.  4790).     And  so  on. 

*  Speaking  of  his  mission  as  interpreter  of  the  Word,  Swedenborg 
thus  expresses  himself  :  "  The  laws  of  Divine  Providence,  hitherto  hid 
in  wisdom  among  the  angels,  are  now  revealed." — Angdic  Wisdom  con- 
cenvlng  the  Divine  Providence^  London  Ed.,  1857,  p.  70. 

f  "Everyman  has  hereditary  evil,  and  therefore  he  is  in  the  con- 
cupiscence of  many  evils.  ...  A  man,  from  himself,  cannot  do 
good.  .  .  .  Thence  it  is  that  in  man  there  is  no  health,  or  nothing 
sound,  but  ^-nat  he  is  one  entire  mass  of  evil." — Divine  Providence^ 
\\  377. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  SWEDENBOEGIAiaSM.       231 

ceived  from  God,  were  of  a  character  to  retard  the  acceptance 
of  the  truths  he  taught.  While  he  rejected  the  idea  of  the 
Triiiitj,*  or  of  a  Son  of  God,  f  he  held  that  Jehovah  himself 
descended  and  assumed  humanity  on  our  earth,  for  the  purpose 
of  redeeming  mankind,  of  reducing  hell  to  subjection,  and  of 
re-organizing  Heaven  :  seeing  that  He  could  not  save  His  crea- 
tures from  damnation  in  any  other  way.  J  Orthodoxy  and 
Rationalism,  of  course,  alike  repudiate  this  heretical  and  illogi- 
cal conception. 

But  the  worst  results  from  Swedenborg's  master-error  were 
connected  with  that  lack  of  charity  which  ever  follows  the  in- 
sidious illusion  of  infallibility.  Despite  his  equable  and  gentle 
character,  despite  his  own  tenet  that  men  are  not  saved  by 
faith,  he  was  occasionally  betrayed  into  the  harshest  intoler- 
ance. Speaking  of  those  "  who  are  called  in  the  world  Socin 
ians  and  some  of  them  Aiians,"  he  says :  "  The  lot  of  both  is 
.  .  .  that  they  are  let  down  into  hell  among  those  who  deny 
God.  These  are  meant  by  those  who  blaspheme  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who  will  not  be  forgiven  either  in  this  world  or  in  that 
which  is  to  come."  § 

*  ''  Scarcely  any  remains  of  the  Lord's  Church  are  left.  This  has 
come  to  pass  in  consequence  of  separating  the  Divine  Trinity  into  three 
persons,  each  of  which  is  declared  to  be  Grod  and  Lord.  Hence  a  sort 
of  frenzy  has  infected  the  whole  system  of  theology." — Swedenbokg  : 
Time  Clin^ian  Bdigion^  London,  1858,  p.  4. 

f  ''  The  idea  of  a  Son  bom  from  eternity,  descending  and  assuming 
the  humanity,  must  be  found  to  be  altogether  erroneous.  .  .  .  The 
production  of  a  God  from  a  God  is  a  thing  impracticable.  It  is  the 
same  thing  whether  we  use  the  terms  begotten  by  God  or  proceeding 
from  Him." — True  Chi^tian  Religion,  p.  83. 

X  Swedenborg's  doctrine  as  to  the  incarnation  is  this :  "  Jehovah 
himself  descended  and  assumed  the  humanity."  This  he  did,  "that  he 
might  accomplish  the  work  of  redemption,  which  consisted  in  reducing 
the  hells  to  subjection  and  in  bringing  the  heavens  into  a  new,  orderly 
arrangement.  .  .  .  God  could  not  redeem  mankind,  that  is  dehvei 
thsm  from  damnation  and  hell,  by  any  other  process  than  that  of  assum- 
ing the  humanity." — True  Christian  Religion',  pp.  81,  84. 

§  AngeUo  Wisdom  coiictTning  Dicine  Providence,  p.  231. 


232  SWEDENBOKGIAN   INTOLEiiANCE. 

Even  worse  than  this  is  the  cruel  spirit,  aggravated  by  the 
assumption  of  false  premises,  in  which  he  speaks  of  those  whom 
he  ought  to  have  commended  and  hailed  as  spiritual  brethren. 
We  have  it  under  his  own  hand,  as  divinely  revealed  to  him, 
that  the  Quaker  worship  is  so  execrable  and  abominable  ohat  if 
Oliristians  but  knew  its  true  character,  "they  would  expel 
Quakers  from  society  and  permit  them  to  live  only  among 
beasts."*  And  this — think  of  it! — from  one  who  deemed 
himself  the  penman  of  God ! — the  recipient  and  inditer  of  trutn 
unmixed  with  error ! 

*  In  Swedenborg's  diary,  under  date  October  29, 1748,  he  says :  '•  Tho 
secret  worship  of  the  Quakers,  sedulously  concealed  from  the  world, 
was  made  manifest.  It  is  a  worship  so  wicked,  execrable,  and  abomin- 
able, that,  were  it  known  to  Christians,  they  would  expel  Quakers  from 
society,  and  permit  them  to  live  only  among  beasts.  They  have  a  vile 
communion  of  wives,  etc;"  Agaia,  October  38,  1748  :  "They  are  in- 
domitably obstinate  in  their  aversion  to  having  their  thoughts  and  do- 
ings made  public.  They  strove  with  me  and  the  spirits  who  desired 
(but  in  vain)  to  know  their  secrets. " — See  Emanud  Swedenborg^  his  Life 
and  WrUiiiffs,  by  William  White,  London,  1867,  vol.  i.  p,  886,  387. 

The  poison  of  intolerance,  in  its  most  malignant  type,  still  works 
among  a  bigoted  portion  of  Swedenborg's  followers.  The  (London) 
Iiitellectaal  Repository  is  the  accredited  organ  of  artJwdox  Swedenbor- 
giauism.  Its  editor  (sixteen  years  since,  however,)  after  stating  his 
opinion  that  "spirits,  even  the  highest  angels,  have  nothing  to  tell  us 
in  relation  to  doctrine  and  life  but  what  is  revealed  in  the  Word,"  goes 
on  to  say  :  "We  therefore  conclude  that  it  is  not  only  dangerous,  but 
impious,  to  seek  to  have  communion  with  spirits,  especially  in  regard  to 
anything  of  doctrine  and  life."  But  he  does  not  stop  here.  He  tells 
us  that  there  is  good  reason  for  the  command  "so  often  repeated  to 
the  Children  of  Israel,  to  put  those  to  death  who  had  familiar  spirita 
and  who  were  necromancers,  or  as  in  the  Hebrew  text,  '  asked  inquiries 
of  the  dead.'" — Intellectual  Repository^  toI.  for  1855,  pp.  460,  461. 
Anything  worse  than  this  we  may  search  the  records  of  modem  theology 
iu  vain  to  find. 

Such  is  one  phase  of  this  religious  movement.  There  is  a  second, 
directly  opposed  to  the  first.  Thousands  will  unite  with  me  in  the  ac- 
knowledgment that  some  of  our  best  and  most  enlightened  f  dends  ard 
UbercU  Swedenborgians. 


GEOWTH   OF   BPmiTUALISM.  233 

One  reads  such  passages  as  these  with  deep  regret  that  a  man 
so  eminently  wise  in  many  things  should  have  strayed,  in 
others,  so  far  from  charity  and  common  sense.  Yet  perhaps  it 
was  best.  The  state  of  society  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury may  have  been  such  that  men  could  not  then  safely  ba 
trusted  to  seek,  through  communion  with  the  spirit-worldf 
proofs  of  its  existence  and  information  touching  its  character 
and  pursuits. 

May  we,  living  in  the  eighth  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
be  trusted  in  this  matter?  Can  we  bear  the  many  things, 
promised  to  us  from  the  spiritual  sphere,  which  Christ's  apos- 
tles were  not  yet  able  to  bear,  and  which  our  ancestors,  of  one 
or  two  centuries  since,  evidently  were  unfitted  to  receive  ? 
If  it  appear  that  normal  spiritual  communion,  like  adult  suf- 
frage, is  upon  us,  the  fact  of  its  advent  will,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, be  evid-^nce  that  the  world  is  not  wholly  unprepared  for 
its  reception. 

The  character  of  that  reception,  too,  adds  vastly  to  the  evi- 
dence for  its  timeliness.  One  would  think  the  world  must 
have  been  an  hungered  for  the  proofs  of  immortality  which 
Spiritualism  has  brought  to  light.  The  new  faith  has  overrun, 
not  our  country  alone,  but  every  portion  of  the  civilized 
world.*     At  this  day,  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  from 

*  Judge  J.  W.  Edmonds,  formerly  of  the  Supreme  Bench  of  New 
York,  has  had  more  experience  among  Spiritualists,  and  a  wider  cor- . 
respondence  on  Spiritualism  all  over  the  world,  than  any  one  else  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted.  Writing  to  me  in  February  last,  he  says  :  "I 
have  received  letters  on  the  subject,  during  the  last  twenty  years,  from 
all  parts  of  the  United  States,  from  England,  Ireland,  Scotland, 
France,  Germany,  Russia,  Spain,  Italy,  Greece,  the  East  Indies,  Cuba, 
Jamaica,  Brazil,  Guatemala,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  the  Ionian  Islands,  Malta,  Algiers,  and  other  places  that  I  cannot 
now  recall."  And  he  mentions  having  received  a  letter  and  book 
(published  in  London,  1865)  from  an  English  lady  who  had  spent  ten 
or  twelve  years  travelling  all  over  Europe,  and  in  Asia  and  Africa  / 
From  her  book  he  extracts  the  following : 


/ 


2^4.  NUMBER  OF   SPIEITITALISTS. 

what  may  be  regarded  as  its  inception,*  its  believers,  privaie 
and  avowed,  probably  outnumber,  one  hundkedfold,  the 
aggregate  to  which  either  of  its  spiritual  predecessors — Quak- 
ers or  Swedenborgians — ever  attained.  The  number  of  those 
who  accept,  more  or  less  unreservedly,  its  phenomena,  may  be 
Mfely  assumed  to  exceed,  in  the  United  States,  seven  millions 
and  a  ]ialf,f  and  in  the  rest  of  Christendom  at  least  as  many 
more. 

One  might  have  to  double  this  last  amount,  reaching  thirty 
tnillions,  to  include  a11  in  the  Christian  world  whose  scepti- 
cism in  w^hat  is  called  the  Supernatural — but  what  is  the  law 
governed  Spiritual — has  been,  chiefly  by  this  movement,  more 
or  less  shaken  or  removed. 

The  constant  increase  in  the  number  of  Spiritualists  is  by 
no  means  confined  to  this  country.     In  London,  ten  years  ago, 

' '  There  is  scarcely  a  city  or  a  considerable  town  in  Continental 
Europe,  at  the  present  moment,  where  Spiritualists  are  not  reckoned 
by  hundreds  if  not  by  thousands  ;  where  regularly-established  commu- 
nities do  not  habitually  meet  for  spmtual  purposes :  and  they  reckon 
among  them  individuals  of  every  class  and  avocation,  and  intellects  of 
the  highest  order." — Scepticvim  and  Spiritualism,  or  the  Experience  of  a 
Sr^tic;  by  the  authoress  of  Aurelia. 
I      *  March  31,  1848.     See  Footfalls,  p.  288. 

/  f  Judge  Edmonds,  in  a  letter  to  the  "  Spiritual  Magazine  "  of  Lon- 
don, dated  May  4,  1867,  estimated  the  number  of  Spirituahsts  in  the 
United  States,  five  years  ago,  at  ten  millions.  In  a  recent. letter  to 
myself  he  has  reiterated  the  conviction  that  he  had  good  authority  for 
such  a  calculation  :  adding  that  he  feels  assured  it  is  under,  rather  than 
over,  the  truth.  With  less  extended  opportunities  of  judgiag  than  he, 
and  to  avoid  chance  of  exaggeration,  I  put  the  number  at  three-fourths 
of  that  amount  only  :  my  own  opinion  being,  however,  that  this  is  an 

1     under-estimate. 

Those  who  the  most  deprecate  the  influence  of  modem  Spiritualism 
are  the  most  ready  to  confess  how  far  that  influence  has  spread.  "  The 
countless  hosts  of  modem  necromancers  "  is  the  expression  employed 
by  a  religious  Quarterly  of  the  day  (in  a  review  of  Dr.  Bushnell'S 
Nature  and  tJie  Supernatural)  to  designate  the  Spirituahsts  of  th« 
United  States. — Theological  and  Literary  Journal  for  April,  1859,  p, 
535. 


TEMPOEAKY    SCHISM:    AMONG    SPrRITUALISTS.  235 

tncre  was  but  a  single  spiritual  paper ;  to-daj  there  are  five,^ 
advocating,  for  the  present,  different  phases  of  spiritual  belief. 
There  cannot,  of  course,  be  sceptics  in  immortality,  or  secular- 
ists, among  those  who  admit  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism, 
But,  for  the  time,  there  are  those  who  are  tenned  Christian 
Spiritualists,  and  others,  calling  themselves  Radicals,  who  look 
upon  Chi-ist  but  as  one  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  with  no 
claim  to  distinction  as  a  teacher  beyond  Socrates,  Seneca,  and  a 
host  of  others. 

I  am  convinced  that  this  schism  is  temporary  only.  Spirit- 
ualism is  the  complement  of  Christianity.  Spiritual  phenomena 
are  the  witnesses  of  Christianity.  All  thoughtful  believers  in 
the  epiphanies  of  Spiritualism  will  be  Christians  as  soon  as  thej 
learn  to  distinguish  between  the  sim])le  grandeur  of  Christ's 
teachings,  as  embodied  in  the  synoptical  Gospels,  and  the 
Augustinian  version  of  St.  Paul's  theology,  as  adopted  in  one 
form  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  in  another  indorsed  by  Cal- 
vin and  Luther :  a  system  associated  with  infallibility  and 
known,  among  Protestants  and  Romanists  alike,  as  Orthodoxy. 

Spiritual  Epiphanism  is  spreading  as  fast,  probably,  as  the 
world  can  bear  it — as  fast  as  its  wisest  friends  desire  ;  and  it 
is  spreading,  as  they  think,  in  manner  the  most  desirable  :  not 
as  a  sect — nor  ever,  I  trust,  to  become  such — not  as  a  separate 
Church,  with  its  prescribed  creed  and  its  ordained  ministers 
and  its  formal  professors.  It  spreads  silently  through  the 
agency  of  daily  intercourse,  in  the  privacy  of  the  domestic 
circle.  It  pervades,  in  one  or  other  of  its  phases,  the  best  lit- 
erature of  the  day.  f     It  invades  the  Churches  already  estab- 

*  Namely,  the  Spiritual  Magazine^  the  Spiritualist^  the  thrisHan 
Spiritualist,  Human  Nature,  and  the  Medium  and  Daybreak:  th^ 
first  three  representing  Christian  Spiritualism ;  the  two  latter  advoca- 
ting Spiritualism  in  connection  with  what  are  usually  termed  radical 
doctrines.  . 

f  Writing  this  in  January,  1871,  I  call  to  mind  that,  within  the  last  ^, 
four  or  five  weeks,  six  stories  of  apparitions,  aU  seriously  and  earnestly 
narrated,  have  appeared  in  one  or  other  of  Harpers^  periodicals :  on« 


23G  now    SPIKITUALISM    SPKEADS. 

lished,  not  as  an  opponent  but  as  an  ally.  Its  tendency  is  i* 
modify  the  creed  and  soften  the  asperities,  of  Protestant  and 
Romanist,  of  Presbyterian  and  Episcopalian,  of  Baptist  and 
Methodist,  of  Unitarian  and  Universalist.  Its  tendency  is  to 
leaven,  with  invigorating  and  spiritualizing  effect,  the  religious 
s(ititiment  of  the  age,  increasing  its  vitality,  enlivening  its  con- 
victions. 

I  would  not  be  understood,  however,  as  expecting  that 
Spiritualism  will  effect  all  this  except  in  measure  as  its  rich 
mines  are  wisely  worked ;  nor  as  asserting,  in  a  general  way, 
that  we  of  the  present  age  are  worthy  recipients  of  its  reveal- 
ings.  There  are  millions  of  men  and  women  among  us  who 
lack  the  judgment  needed  to  prosecute  spiritual  research,  just 
as  there  are  millions  more  who  have  not  the  culture  necessary 
to  exercise  judiciously  the  right  to  vote.  In  either  case  there 
is  but  one  remedy :  the  millions  must  be  educated  up  to  the 
occasion. 

Spiritual  manifestations  are  more  inevitable-  than  universal 
suffrage ;  for  a  majority,  if  it  see  fit,  can  limit  the  elective 
franchise :  but  no  majority,  be  it  ever  so  large,  can  summon, 
or  can  exclude,  the  most  important  among  the  epiphanies  of 
Spiritualism.  If  dreams  do,  sometimes,  supply  warning  or 
prophecy ;  if  material  objects  are,  occasionally,  moved  before 
our  eyes  by  powers  not  of  this  world ;  if  houses  really  are 
what  is  termed  haunted,  without  human  agency ;  if  the  spirits 
of  those  whom  we  call  dead  do,  at  times,  reveal  themselves  by 
influence,  or  by  intelligent  sounds,  or  by  actual  apparition  as 
did  Christ  to  assure  his  disciples  of  immortality — what   power 

leading  to  the  detection  of  a  murder ;  three  others  (supplement  to 
Harper's  Weekly  of  December  24,  1870,  p.  846)  from  the  pen  of  Flor- 
ence Marryat,  daughter  of  the  celebrated'  novelist :  one  of  tb  fse  last 
having  been  witnessed  by  Captain  Marryat  himself,  and  all,  the  writtr 
says,  being  "  strictly  true  and  well  authenticated."  But  no  periodicala 
of  our  country  are  conducted  with  better  judgment,  nor  with  stricter 
regard  to  the  demands  of  public  sentiment,  than  those  issued  by  the 
Harpers. 


HOW    SPIRITUALISM    SHOULD   BE    &  fUDIED.  237 

have  we  weak  mortals,  who  must  sit  still  and  see  winds  and 
waves  fulfil  their  mission,  to  control  the  agency  of  disembodied 
spirits?  Shall  we  set  about  considering  whether  we  shall 
accept  the  epiphany  of  the  rainbow  or  the  apparition  of  th<s 
Aurora  Borealis  ? 

If  the  belief  in  the  phenomena  called  Spiritual  be  a  delusion 
of  the  senses,  it  will  come  to  naught ;  if  it  be  of  God  we  can- 
not arrest  its  advent.  We  may  receive  it  unwisely,  interpret 
it  ignorantly,  treat  it  with  distrust  or  with  levity;  or  we  may 
examine  its  phenomena  in  a  patient  and  catholic  spirit  of  in- 
quiry, in  manner  suited  to  its  sacred  claims  :  that  is  all.  And 
it  is  inexpressibly  important  that  it  find  us  with  our  lights 
burning.  If  we  seek  it,  darkling ;  if  we  meet  it,  insensible  to 
its  high  character ;  it  may  prove  a  bane  instead  of  a  blessing. 

That  the  Spiritualists  of  our  day  need  wise  advice  and  pru- 
dent cautions ;  that  some  of  them  run  into  extravagance  and 
misconceive  alike  the  objects  of  spiritual  research  and  the 
fitting  mode  of  conducting  it ;  that  their  ranks  have  been  in- 
vaded by  thousands  of  waifs  and  strays,  possessed  by  vagrant 
and  fantastic  opinions — is  but  what  happens  in  all  great  revo- 
lutions of  opinion,  political  or  religious ;  is  but  that  which 
befel  the  German  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the 
French  Revolutionists  of  the  eighteenth.  The  wild  waves  of 
freedom,  as  some  one  has  suggested,  occasionally  cast  their 
blinding  spray  beyond  legitimate  bound.  But  time  brings 
counsel. 

Nor  is  it  reasonable  to  expect  that  Spiritualism's  best  fruits 
should  be  obtained  in  their  maturity,  at  this  early  stage  of 
their  culture  ;  much  less  do  I  assume  here  to  produce  them. 
If,  even,  by  length  of  experience  and  profundity  of  research, 
I  had  become  fully  competent  to  set  forth  all  the  conditions 
necessary  to  obtain  the  surest  and  most  useful  results  from  the 
manifestations  of  Spiritualism,  it  would  require  a  volume  to 
contain  a  detailed  statement  of  these  conditions,  properly  evi- 
denced and  illustrated.  But,  though  I  have  faithfully  ex- 
pended the  leisure  which  fifteen  years  of  active  life  left  me,  in 


238  HINTS   AND   WAENING8   AS   TO 

this  study,  I  am  far  indeed  from  being  thus  competent :  doi 
do  I  believe  that  any  man  living  yet  is.  Such  knov/ledge  must 
come,  like  all  important  knowledge,  through  the  labors  of  many 
and  the  gradual  unfoldings  of  time. 

Such  hints  and  warnings  as  seemed  to  me  the  most  impor- 
tant I  have  already  given ;  as  that  the  Spiritualist  must  be- 
ware of  the  temptation  to  imagine  that  he  is  obtaining  reveal- 
ings  direct  from  God,  or  from  any  person  of  the  Godhead,  or 
from  any  other  infallible  source.  Let  him  rest  satisfied  if  he 
obtain  sure  proof  of  immortality  :  that  is  the  pearl  of  great 
price,  to  become  the  possessor  of  which  no  efforts  are  too  ardu- 
ous, no  pains  too  great.  For  the  rest  he  must  trust  to  general 
precepts  and  advices,  tested  and  approved  by  reason  and  con- 
science. Every  profound  student  of  Nature  becomes  convinced 
that  infallible  teachrQgs  touching  the  details  of  human  con- 
rluct  and  earthly  affairs  do  not  enter  into  the  economy  of  the 
universe. 

Especially  should  the  Spiritualist  be  on  his  guard  against 
seeking  worldly  wealth  and  profit  through  spiritual  revealings. 
The  very  attempt  tends  to  attract  spirits  of  a  low  order.  The 
medium  who  submits  to  it  incurs  grave  dangers;  while  the 
votary  puts  himself  in  the  sure  road  to  delusion  and  disap- 
pointment. *  A  medium  who  is  true  to  his  high  trust  will  re- 
fuse to  enter  a  path  thus  perilous  and  misleading,  f     If,  some- 

*  But  that  space  fails  me  I  could  adduce  numerous  examples  in  proof 

of  this. 

f  An  anecdote,  in  this  connection,  may  be  worth  relating.  In  the 
spring  of  1858,  we  had  several  sittings  in  my  apartments  in  the  Palazzo 
Valli,  Xaples.  with  the  celebrated  medium,  Mr.  Home  ;  at  which  sit- 
tings the  Count  d'AquHa  (or,  as  we  usually  called  him,  Prince  Luigi, 
third  brother  of  the  tlien  reigning  King  of  Naples),  at  his  own  sugges- 
tion, assisted ;  no  one  else  except  my  family  being  present.  It  was 
thought  by  some  that,  in  case  of  a  revolution,  the  Prince's  chance  to 
Bucceed  his  brother  on  the  throne  was  good ;  and  he  asked  Mr.  Home  to 
obtain  for  him  an  answer  to  a  question  which,  though  cautiously  worded, 
evidently  looked  to  the  succession.  "  I  know,"  said  IVtr.  Home,  in  re- 
ply, "  that  your  Royal  Highness  will  pardon  me  for  saying  that  such  an 


MODE   OF   STUDTINQ    SPIRITUALISM.  239 

times  when  all  human  effort  has  failed,  spiritual  aid  oi'  advice 
in  such  matters  is  volunteered,  it  should,  even  then,  be  re- 
ceived with  great  caution.  Money-changers  are  out  of  place 
in  the  spiritual  temple.  Man's  destiny  is  to  earn  his  bread  by 
industry,  not  by  divination. 

Still  another  warning  is  greatly  needed.  The  most  experi- 
enced Spiritualists  believe  that  no  one,  though  actuated  by  the 
purest  motives,  can  abandon  himself  to  influences  from  the 
next  world,  exclusively  and  throughout  a  long  term  of  years 
(for  instance  as  Swedenborg  did),  without  risk  of  serious  injury , 
and  without  imminent  danger  of  being,  more  or  less  frequently, 
misled.  Seculaiism  is  lamentably  in  error  when  she  teaches 
that  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  live  here  without  taking 
thought,  or  seeking  to  fit  ourselves,  for  a  hereafter :  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  earth-life  and  its  duties  are  ah 
indispensable  preparation  for  our  next  phase  of  beiug.  Each 
world,  like  each  age  of  man,  has  its  own  sphere  with  appropri- 
ate duties,  to  be  fulfilled  with  reference  the  one  to  the  other, 
but  not  to  be  interchanged.  If,  in  infancy,  dreaming  constantly 
of  manhood  and  its  privileges,  we  neglect  the  culture  and  pur- 
suits which  pertain  to  childhood,  we  shall  suffer  for  it  in  our 
adult  years ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  development  in 
the  next  world  can  fully  compensate  for  neglected  opportunities 
of  improvement  and  of  usefulness  in  this.  If,  while  here,  we 
do  not  habitually  avail  ourselves  of  such  opportunities,  it  may 
be  assumed  as  certain  that  we  shall  die  at  last,  like  hermits 
after  a  barren  Kfe  in  the  desert,  utterly  unfitted  for  our  future 
homes. 

Again :  Exclusive  devotion  to  meditations,  or  to  spirit- 
inquiry  ought  not  to  be  made  of  the  spirits.  It  is  their  office  to  supply 
us  with  spiritual  knowledge,  not  to  satisfy  curiosity  about  worldly  con- 
cerns." 

"You  are  quite  right,  Mr,  Home,"  replied  Prince  Luigi,  "and! 
thank  you  for  speaking  so  plainly." 

A  reproof  and  a  reply  which,  considering  the  circumstances,  were 
equally  honorable  to  the  medium  and  to  the  Prince 


240         spmniJAL  and  theological  liteeatueb. 

influences,  connected  with  the  next  world,  gives  birth,  in 
Spiritualism  as  in  Theology,  to  a  vague  and  heavy  literature, 
in  which  common  sense  has  small  part.  Nevertheless  slurs 
against  the  current  effusions  of  Spiritualism  come  with  a  bad 
grace  from  those,  standing  afar  off,  who  have  never  lifted  a 
finger  to  sift  profitable  from  worthless,  or  done  aught,  in  any 
way,  to  purify  or  improve  what  they  condemn. 

The  space  I  allotted  to  this  branch  of  the  subject  is  exhausted ; 
and  perhaps  I  have  said  enough  toward  marking  the  import- 
ance of  this  phenomenal  movement,  and  assigning  to  Spiritual- 
ism itself  definite  character  and  fitting  place  among  the  religious 
beliefs  of  the  day.  Though  not  a  sect,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
any  sect,  exerting  peaceful  influence  only,  ever  spread  with  the 
same  rapidity,  or  made  its  mark  during  so  brief  an  existence, 
on  the  hearts  of  so  considerable  a  fraction  of  mankind.  Al- 
ready it  begins  to  assert  its  position.  Though  its  truths  are 
disputed  still,  yet,  except  by  the  ignorant  or  the  hopelessly 
bigoted,  they  are  not  despised.  The  idea  is  daily  gaining 
ground  that  its  occult  agencies  may  richly  repay  earnest  re- 
search. The  essential  is  that  the  entire  subject  should  be 
studied  in  its  broad  phase,  as  one  of  the  vital  elements  of  b9 
enlightened  Christian  faith. 


CHAPTER  HL 


OF   INSPIEATION. 

**  That  perfect  silence  where  the  lips  and  heart 
Are  stiU,  and  we  no  longer  entertain 
Our  own  imperfect  thoughts  and  vain  opinions, 
But  God  alone  speaks  in  us." — Longfellow. 

"  There  does  not  appear  the  least  intimation  in  history  or  traditior 
that  religion  was  first  reasoned  out :  but  the  whole  of  histoiy  and  tra- 
dition makes  for  the  other  side,  that  it  came  into  the  world  by  revela- 
tion. Indeed  the  state  of  religion  in  the  first  ages  of  which  we  have 
any  account,  seems  to  suppose  and  intimate  that  this  was  the  original 
of  it  among  mankind." — Butleb.* 

The  subject  of  Inspiration,  like  that  of  the  signs  and  wonders 
of  the  Gospels  and  of  the  spiritual  gifts  commended  by  Paul, 
has  usually  fallen  into  very  injudicious  hands.  Its  would-be 
friends  have  done  it  far  more  harm  than  its  opponents.  The 
rationalistic  spirit  of  the  age  is  disposed  to  reject  it ;  and  the 
chief  reason  for  this  is  the  extravagance,  and  the  exclusive 
character,  of  the  claims  put  forward  in  its  behalf  by  theolo- 
gians. 

Protestant  Orthodoxy  claims  that  it  is  an  exceptional  and 
miraculous  gift  of  God,  granted  to  man  during  one  century  only 
of  the  last  eighteen ;  and  then  gi^anted  only  to  the  xluthor  of 

*  Analogy  of  Bdigion,  part  ii.  chap.  2  ;  pp.  195-6  (of  London  Ed.  of 
1809).     See,  in  corroboration,  pp.  139,   140.     See  also,  on  the  sane 
subject,  jireceding  page  of  this  volurae,  1G9. 
11 


242  WHAT    INSPIRATION    IS. 

our  religion  and  to  eight  others ;  namely,  to  the  four  Evangel 
ists  and  to  St.  Paul,  St.  James,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Jude.* 

Koman  Catholic  Orthodoxy  claims  that  this  miraculous  gift 
of  God  has  been  granted  throughout  the  whole  of  the  last  eigh- 
teen centuries ;  but,  during  the  last  seventeen  of  these,  only  to 
one  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction;  namely,  to  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church. 

Both  Orthodoxies,  though  differing  on  so  many  other  points, 
igree  in  claiming  for  Inspiration  that  it  is  a  direct  gift  of  God 
and  the  source  of  unmixed,  unerring  truth. 

Loaded  down  by  claims  so  unphilosophical  as  these,  we  need 
not  wonder  that  Inspiration  is  rejected  as  a  fallacy  by  many  of 
the  most  earnest  and  thoughtful  minds  of  the  day.  When  Sci- 
ence fully  awakes  to  the  fact  that  there  may,  as  part  of  the 
cosmical  plan,  be  intermundane  as  well  as  mundane  phenomena, 
much  of  this  growing  scepticism  will  be  dissipated.  Before 
this  can  happen,  however,  we  must  discard  the  orthodox  defini- 
tion of  Inspiration,  and  adopt  one  more  in  accordance  with  the 
enlightened  spirit  of  the  age ;  somewhat,  perhaps,  in  this 
wise: 

It  is  a  mental  or  psychical  phenomenon,  strictly  law-gov- 
erned; occasional,  but  not  exceptional  or  exclusive;  some- 
times of  a  spiritual  and  ultramundane  character,  indeed,  but 
never  miraculous;  often  imparting  invaluable  knowledge  to 
man,  but  never  infallible  teachings ;  one  of  the  most  precious 
of  all  God's  gifts  to  His  creatures,  but,  in  no  case,  involving  a 
direct  message  from  Him — a  message  to  be  accepted,  unques- 
tioned by  reason  or  conscience,  as  Divine  truth  unmixed  with 
liuman  error. 

To  this  it  may  be  added,  in  accordance  with  Bishop  Butler's 

*  It  may,  however,  properly  be  added  that  Protestantism  claims  that 
the  majority  of  a  certain  CEcumenical  Council  was  inspired  by  God  in 
one  of  its  acts  ;  namely,  the  Council  of  Carthage  when,  at  the  close  of 
the  fourth  century,  it  established  the  Canon  of  Scripture,  For,  unless 
this  be  admitted,  there  is  no  sure  proof  tbat  the  Bible,  as  now  canon- 
ioally  constructed,  is  a  miraculously  inspired  volume. 


INSPIRATION   THE    SOURCE    OF    ALL   RELIGIONS.  243 

views,  that  Inspiration  is  the  source  not  of  one  religion  alone, 
but,  in  phase  more  or  less  pure,  of  all  religions,  ancient  or 
modern,  that  have  held  persistent  sway  over  any  considerable 
portion  of  mankind.  And  just  in  proportion  to  the  rela- 
tive purity  of  this  source,  welling  up  in  each  system  of  faith 
respectively,  is  the  larger  or  smaller  admixture  of  the  Good 
and  the  True  which — modem  candor  is  learning  to  admit — is 
to  be  found,  in  certain  measure,  even  in  the  rudest  creed ;  aa 
Lowell  has  it : 

"  Each  form  of  worship  that  hath  swayed 
The  life  of  man,  and  given  it  to  grasp 
The  master-key  of  knowledge,  reverence, 
Enfolds  some  germs  of  goodness  and  of  right."  * 

Among  those  who  adopt  this  broad  view  of  Inspiration  as  a 
universal  agency,  there  are  two  different  opinions  touching  its 
origin :  one  class  of  reasoners  (including  many  students  of  vital 
magnetism)  tracii'g  it  to  a  peculiar  condition  of  the  mind,  while 
others  seek  its  source  in  some  occult  intelligence  outside  of  the 
individual,  and  operating  upon  him.  My  own  conviction  is, 
that  there  is  truth  in  both  theories.  Inspiration  is  a  phenom- 
enon sometimes  purely  psychical,  correlative  with  clearsight 
(clairvoyance),  and  appertaining  to  the  department  of  Mental 
Science ;  f  sometimes  produced  by  influences  fi^om  the  next 
world,  and  to  be  referred  to  Spiritualism. 

*  It  is  a  cheerily  sign  of  the  times  when  a  clergyman  of  one  per- 
suasion issues  a  series  of  sermons,  in  which  he  recognizes  and  sets  forth 
the  excellence  of  Churches  other  than  his  own,  prefaced  with  the  re- 
mark that  "a  good  man's  home  is  the  more  dehghtfuTas  he  calls  to 
mind  that  the  world  is  full  of  good  homes  ;  and  that  millions  are  aa 
happy  as  he."  The  Rev.  Tho>l\s  K.  Beecher  (of  Elmira,  New  Yorl:), 
has  done  this,  in  a  small  volume  entitled  Our  Seven  ChuTc7i€S  (New 
York,  1870)  •  including,  among  the  seven,  the  Church  of  Borne. 

f  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  the  well-known  author  of  Natures  Divine 
Uevdation^  is  often  quoted  as  having  written  that  work  under  dictation 
of  spirits.     But  he  himself  declarcR — correctly,  no  doubt — that  it  was 


244:  BOCRATES   REGARDS    AN   ATHENIAN 

Among  the  ancient  philosophers  there  were  those  who,  more 
or  less  distinctly,  detected  its  existence ;  some  in  one  of  its 
forms,  som(>  in  the  other.  I  have  space  but  for  a  single  speci- 
men of  each. 

The  most  illustrious  example  comes  to  us  from  One  who  has 
not  inaptly  been  called  the  Father  of  Moral  Philosophy,  and 
who  was  the  Spiritualist  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  In  re 
gard  to  Inspiration,  Socrates,  unless  Plato  has  belied  him, 
adopted  the  spiritual  theory. 

Among  the  celebrated  Dialogues  of  Plato  is  one  in  which  the 
interlocutors  are  Socrates  and  Ion,  an  Athenian  declaimer  or 
rhapsodist  who  had  been  in  the  habit,  in  his  public  harangues, 
of  introducing  copious  and  beautiful  illustrations  of  Homer 
Alluding  to  the  great  success  these  had  obtained,  and  to  the 
fact  that,  when  he  attempted  to  illustrate  other  poets,  all  his 
efforts  failed,  Ion  asks  of  Socrates  an  explanation  of  this  dis- 
tinction.    Socrates  replies : 

"  I  will  tell  you,  O  Ion,  what  appears  to  me  to  be  the  cause 
of  this  inequality  of  power.  It  is  that  you  are  not  master  of 
any  art  for  the  illustration  of  Homer ;  but  it  is  a  Divine  influ- 
ence which  moves  you,  like  that  which  resides  in  the  stone 
called  magnet  by  Euripides."  * 

Socrates,  then,  in  further  explanation,  adds  ;  "  The  authors 
of  these  great  poems  which  we  admire  do  not  attain  to  excel- 
lence through  the  rules  of  art,  but  they  utter  their  beautiful 
melodies  of  verse  in  a  state  of  inspiration  and,  as  it  were,  pos- 
sessed by  a  Spirit  not  their  own." 

TJien  he  inquires  of   Ion :    "  Tell  me,  and  do  not  conceal 

written  in  a  state  of  clairvoyance,  or  as  he  phrases  it,  in  "  the  superior 
condition."  The  distinction  between  clearsight  and  mediumship  is  im- 
portant. 

*  It  is  noteworthy  that,  twenty-two  centuries  since,  a  pMlosophei 
detected  the  connection  between  magnetism  (though  only  in  its  terres- 
trial phase)  and  that  state  of  mind  which  frequently  gives  birth  to  in- 
Bpuation.  How  much  Reichenbach's  experiments  would  have  inter 
ested  Socrates ! 


DECLAIMEB   TO    BE   INSPIEED   BY   HOMEB.  245 

what  I  ask.  When  you  declaim  well  and  strike  your  audience 
with  admiration;  whether  you  sing  of  Ulysses  rushing  upon 
the  threshold  of  his  palace,  discovering  himself  to  the  suitors 
and  pouring  his  shafts  out  at  his  feet ;  or  of  Achilles  assailing 
Hector ;  or  those  affecting  passages-  concerning  Andromache,  or 
Hecuba,  or  Priam — are  you  then  self-possessed  ?  or,  rather, 
are  you  not  rapt  and  filled  with  such  enthusiasm  by  the  deeds 
you  recite,  that  you  fancy  yourself  in  Ithaca  or  Troy,  or  where- 
over  else  the  poem  transports  you  ?  " 

Ion.  "  You  speak  most  truly,  Socrates." 

The  sage  then  gives  his  explanation.  "  You,  O  Ion,  are  in- 
fluenced by  Homer.  If  you  recite  the  works  of  any  other  poet, 
you  get  drowsy  and  are  at  a  loss  what  to  say ;  but  when  you 
hear  any  of  the  compositions  of  that  poet,  your  thoughts  are 
excited  and  you  grow  eloquent.  .  .  .  This  explains  the 
question  you  asked  wherefore  Homer  and  no  other  poet  inspire;? 
you  with  eloquence :  it  is  that  you  are  thus  excellent  not  by 
science  but  through  Divine  inspiration."  * 

The  expression  (ascribed,  as  above,  by  Plato  to  Socrates), 
''you  are  influenced  by  Homer,"  is  very  remarkable:  it  em- 
bodies the  cardinal  doctrine  of  Spiritualism. 

The  philosopher  had  the  best  of  all  reasons  for  adopting  this 
view  of  the  case ;  namely,  his  own  personal  experience.  This 
leads  me  to  speak  of 

*  "/<>;i,"  or  of  Inspiration.  I  have  here  followed  the  translation 
adopted  by  G.  EL  Lewes  in  his  "History  of  Philosophy,"  series  i.  The 
above  extracts  and  many  others  in  corroboration,  may  there  be  found. 
The  authenticity  of  this  dialogue,  as  written  by  Plato,  is  admitted  on 
all  hands.  It  contains,  of  course,  only  a  narration  of  Socrates'  opinions, 
not  an  indorsement  of  them  by  the  narrator.  Yet  they  seem  to  have 
been  substantially  shared  by  Socrates'  illustrious  pupiL  An  enlight- 
ened church  historian  says:  "Plato's  speculations  rested  on  a  basin 
altogether  historical.  He  connected  himself  with  the  actual  phenomena 
of  religious  life  and  with  the  traditions  lying  before  him.  ...  It 
still  continued  to  be  the  aim  of  original  Platonism  to  trace  throughout 
history  the  vestiges  of  a  connection  between  the  visible  and  invisible 
worlds."— Neander  :  Church  History  (Bohn's  Ed.),  vol.  i.  p.  26. 


/ 


240  SOCEATES   BEFORE   HIS    JUDGES. 

The  Genius,  or  Demon,  op  Soceates.* 

For  particulars  toucliing  the  noted  Guardian  Spirit  or  Demou 
{Daimonion)  of  Socrates,  we  are  indebted  to  the  same  eminent 
authority  through  which  most  of  the  opinions  spoken  but  not 
set  down  by  the  martyr-philosopher  himself,  have  reached  us. 

Though  alluded  to  elsewhere  in  Plato's  wri tings, f  the  most 
dir-ect  and  reliable  account  of  this  spirit-voice  and  its  warnings 
is  to  be  found  in  the  "Apology,"  written  immediately  after  the 
death  of  Socrates.  In  this  paper,  the  only  strictly  authentic 
record  we  possess  of  that  philosopher's  defence  before  his  judges, 
Plato,  who  was  present  at  his  trial,  may  surely  be  trusted  as 
having  reproduced,  with  fidelity,  the  statements  made,  and  the 
arguments  employed,  on  that  memorable  occasion,  by  the  mas- 
ter he  loved. 

Among  the  charges  preferred  against  Socrates  had  been  set 
out  his  pretence  of  communicating  with  a  familiar  spirit.  In 
connection  with  this,  and  alluding  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
taught  in  private,  not  delivered  orations  in  popular  assemblies, 
Socrates  said  to  his  judges : 

"  The  cause  of  this  is  what  you  have  often  and  in  many 
places  heard  me  mention :  because  I  am  moved  by  a  certain 
divine  and  spiritual  influence,  which  also  Melitus,  through 
mockery,  has  set  out  in  the  indictment.  This  began  with  me 
from  childhood  :  being  a  kind  of  voice  which,  when  present,  is 
wont  to  divert  me  from  what  I  am  about  to  do,  but  which 

*  It  need  hardly  be  stated  that  Demon  is  here  employed,  as  usual  in 
Grecian  mythology,  in  the  sense  of  a  divinity  below  the  great  gode 
Thus  in  Cooke's  Hesiod  : 

"  Holy  demons,  by  great  Jove  designed 
To  be  on  earth  the  guardians  of  mankind." 

f  As  in  the  First  Alcibiades,  %  1.  Also,  at  length,  in  the  Theages,  §§ 
10,  11. 

To  the  same  subject  Xenophon  alludes  in  his  Memoirs  of  Socrates, 
Book  i. ,  §  1 :  where  he  says  that  those  who  neglected  the  warnings  oi 
Bocrates'  Genius  "  had  no  small  cause  for  repentance." 


SOCEA.TES   BEFORE   HIS   JUDGES.  247 

nerer  urges  me  on.     This  it  was  which  opposed  my  meddling 
in  public  politics."  * 

Another  allusion  to  the  same  subject,  more  solemn,  pro- 
nounced in  the  immediate  prospect  of  death  after  a  majority 
of  his  judges  had  passed  sentence  upon  Mm,  is  as  follows : 

"To  me,  O  my  judges,  a  strange  thing  has  happened.  Fot 
the  wonted  prophetic  voice  of  my  guardian  deity,  on  every 
former  occasion  even  in  the  most  trifling  affairs,  opposed  me  ii 
I  was  about  to  do  anything  wrong:  But  now,  when  that  has 
befallen  me  which  ye  yourselves  behold — a  thing  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  extremity  of  evil — neither  did  the  warning  of 
the  God  oppose  me  when  T  departed  from  home  this  morning, 
nor  yet  while  I  addressed  you,  though  it  has  often  restrained 
me  in  the  midst  of  speaking.  What  do  I  suppose  to  be  the 
cause  of  this?  .  .  .  That  which  has  befallen  me  is  not 
the  effect  of  chance:  but  this  is  clear  to  me  that  now  to 
die  and  be  freed  from  my  cares  is  better  for  me.  On  this  ac 
count  the  warning  in  no  way  turned  me  aside."  f 

The  sincerity  of  the  philosopher  when  he  said  this  cannot 
rationally  be  doubted.  He  must  be  a  stubborn  or  a  thoughtless 
sceptic  who  assumes  the  ground  that  a  man  like  Socrates,  about 
to  die  because  he  would  not  purchase  life  by  desisting  from 
teaching  what  he  felt  to  be  good  and  just,  would,  at  such  a 
moment,  swerve  a  hairbreadtli  from  the  strict  truth.  J 

According  to  what  rational  canon  of  evidence  can  we  reject 
such  testimony  as  this  ?     The  most  candid  among  modern  his- 

*  A'pology^  §  19. 

f  Apology^  §§  31,  33.  See  also,  as  to  that  matter,  Plutabch,  Da 
Oenio  Socratis,  c.  20 ;  and  Apuleius,  Be  Deo  Socratis. 

X  Seldom  in  any  age,  by  sage  or  martyr,  has  nobler  sentiment  been 
uttered  than  by  Socrates  on  his  tirial,  in  reply  to  the  charge  of  impiety : 
"  il  it  is  your  wish  to  acquit  me  on  condition  that  I  henceforth  be 
silent,  I  reply  that  I  love  and  honor  you,  but  that  I  ought  rather  to 
obey  the  gods  than  you.  Neither  in  the  presence  of  judges  nor  of  tho 
enemy  is  it  permitted  me,  or  any  other  man,  to  use  every  sort  of  means 
to  escape  death.  It  is  not  death  but  crime  that  it  behooves  us  to  avoid ' 
crime  moves  faster  than  death." 


248  SOCRATES   AND   CIOEEO  ON  THE 

torians  of  philosophy  admit  that  the  proof  is  conclusive.* 
Lewes,  who  will  certainly  not  be  accused  of  superstition  oi 
credulity,  alluding,  in  his  History  of  Philosophy,  to  Socrates' 
belief  that  he  was  warned,  from  time  to  time,  by  a  Divine 
7oice,  says:  "  This  is  his  own  explicit  statement;  and  surely,  in 
a  Christian  country,  abounding  in  examples  of  persons  believing 
in  direct  intimations  from  above,  there  can  be  little  difficulty  in 
crediting  such  a  statement."  f 

To  what  extent  Socrates  owed  his  views  oli  immortality  and 
a  future  life  to  his  Guardian  Spirit  we  can  never  know ;  nor  is 
it  likely  that  he  liimself  could  have  determined.  He  seems  to 
have  regarded  that  influence  as  one  sent  to  warn  rather  than  to 
teach.  Yet  it  would  be  strange  if,  twenty-three  centuries  agOj 
he  had  groped  his  way,  unaided,  to  truths  which  we  scarcely 
recognize  to-day.  Take,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the  fol« 
lowing  example : 

"  When  does  the  soul  attain  to  the  truth  ?  For  when  it  at- 
tempts to  investigate  anything  along  with  the  body,  it  is  plain 
that  it  is  then  led  astray  by  it.  .  .  .  The  soul  reasons  most 
efiectually  when  none  of  the  corporeal  senses  harass  it;  neither 
hearing,  sight,  pain  or  pleasure  of  any  kind ;  but  it  retires  as 
much  as  possible  within  itself,  and  aims  at  the  knowledge  of 
what  is  real,  taking  leave  of  the  body  and,  as  far  as  it  can,  ab- 
staining from  any  union  or  participation  with  it."  J 

*  As  Stanley,  in  his  History  of  Philosophy^  London,  1856.  He  there 
says  :  "We  have  the  testimony  of  Plato  and  Xenophon,  contemporary 
with  him,  confirmed  by  Plutarch,  Cicero,  and  other  reliable  authorities, 
to  say  nothing  of  Tertullian,  Origen,  and  others  of  the  Ancient  Fathers, 
that  Socrates  had  an  attendant  Spirit,  which  warned  him  of  danger  and 
misfortune." — Chap.  vi.  p.  19. 

f     f  G.  H.  Lewes  :  Biograpldcal  History  of  PMlosophy^  London  2d  Ed,, 

\l857,  p.  141. 

\    X  P'iccdo^  §  10.     I  have  followed  Stanford's  translation. 

It  is  worth  noting,  however,  that  Socrates  (if  he  be  correctly  reported), 
following  out  this  idea,  strayed,  as  many  noble  souls  have  strayed,  into 
the  barren  regions  or  asceticism  and  abstraction;  forbidding  use,  lest 
abuse  should  follow.     He  sought  wisdom  through  deliverance  "  from 


DISJOINING   OF   SOUL   AND   BODY.  249 

Here  T^e  have  the  germ  of  the  apneumatic  or  psychical  view 
of  Inspiration.  Cicero,  in  a  later  age,  enlarged  on  this.  The 
following  remarkable  passage,  literally  translated,  is  from  liif 
"  Tusculan  Questions." 

"  What  else  do  we  do,  when  from  pleasure,  that  is  from  the 
body,  when  from  common  affairs  which  minister  to  the  body, 
when  from  public  duties,  when  from  all  business  whatever,  we 
call  off  the  soul — what,  I  say,  is  it  that  we  then  do,  otlier  than 
to  recall  the  soul  to  itself  and  to  self-communion,  and  to  lead 
it  in  a  great  degree  away  from  the  body  ?  But  to  segi-egate  the 
soul  from  the  body,  can  it  be  anything  else  than  a  learning  how- 
to  die?  (nee  quidquam  aliud est  quam  emori  discere  ?)  Where- 
fore, believe  me,  we  should  lay  this  to  heart,  and  disjoin  our- 
selves from,  our  bodies ;  that  is,  we  should  accustom  ourselves 
to  die  (disjungamusque  nos  a  corporibus  ;  id  est,  consuescamus 
mori).  And  thus,  while  we  remain  on  earth,  it  will  be  as  if 
we  approached  celestial  life  ;  and  when  at  last  we  are  released 
from  earthly  bonds,  the  exit  of  the  soul  will  thereby  be  less  re- 
tarded." * 

The  "  accustoming  ourselves  to  die  "  is  somewhat  fanciful ; 
yet  the  expression  is,  in  a  measure,  borne  out  by  some  of  the 
phenomena  of  Vital  Magnetism.  When  artil&cial  somnambu- 
lism deepens  into  what  French  magnetizers  call  extase — that  is, 
profound  trance — the  bands  which  connect  soul  and  body  seem 
to  be  greatly  loosened  ;  a  strong  desire  sometimes  shows  itself 
in  the  subject  to  escape  from  earth  to  a  brighter  world ;  and  if, 
through  inexperience  or  inadvertence  of  the  operator,  this  deep 

the  irrationality  of  the  body;"  thouglit  we  should  "  study  to  live  as 
though  on  the  very  confines  of  death;  "  and  advises  "  to  use  reflection 
alone  and  unalloyed,  endeavoring  to  investigate  every  reality  by  itself 
and  unmixed,  abstaining  as  much  as  possible  from  the  use  of  the  eyes, 
and  in  a  word  of  every  part  of  the  body,  as  confounding  the  soul  and, 
when  united  with  it,  preventing  its  attainment  to  wisdonk  and  truth." — 
PJuecb,  %%  10,  11, 13. 

He  did  not  recognize  the  essential  value  and  uses  o5  earth-Hfe,  n«?J 
the  importance  of  teachings  through  the  senses. 

*  Tuscia.  qu€BSt.,\\^.  i  §  31. 
11* 


250  A  FEENCH  MAGNETIZES 

trance  is  too  much  prolongea,  death  may  actually  ensue.  I 
was  told,  in  Paris,  that  several  such  cases  had  occurred ;  but 
the  names  of  the  parties,  as  may  be  supposed,  were  kept  secretv 
An  instance  in  which  a  somnambule  *  had  a.  narrow  escape  is 
related  by  a  French  magnetizer,  author  of  a  curious  work  on 
the  "  Secrets  of  the  Future  Life."  He  had  two  lucid  somnam- 
bules;  one  a  youth  named  Bruno,  the  other,  Ad^le,  a  woman 
in  humble  circumstances  ("  simple  ouvri6re  comme  moi,"  he  saya 
of  her),  not  a  professional  medium  nor  ever  taking  money  for  the 
exerci'e  of  her  gift,  but  who  had  been,  from  infancy,  a  natural 
somn.;mbulist. 

Ou'r^  day  he  had  magnetized  both  simultaneously,  desiring  to 
corap.'^.re  their  impressions  and  to  satisfy  his  doubts  whether  there 
was  (danger  in  carrying  the  state  of  extase  too  far.  He  brought 
BruT^o  into  magnetic  relation  with  Ad61e,  telling  him  to  observe 
wlii>t  became  of  her.  While  occupied  during  some  time  with  the 
you'ig  man,  he  (Bruno)  suddenly  cried  out:  "I've  lost  sight  oi 
her  ;  awake  her ;  there's  but  just  time."  Alarmed,  the  magnet- 
izar  turned  his  attention  to  Adele  whom,  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hoar,  he  had  left  to  herself.  I  translate  the  rest  from  his  own 
words :  "  In  that  short  time  her  body  had  become  almost  icy 
cold  ;  I  could  detect  neither  pulse  nor  respiration ;  her  face  was 
of  a  yellowish  green,  the  lips  blue,  the  heart  gave  no  sign  of 
life.  A  mirror  which  I  approached  to  her  lips  remained  un- 
dimmed.  I  magnetized  her  with  my  utmost  force,  hoping  to 
revive  her  ;  but,  during  five  minutes,  without  any  effect  what- 
ever. Bruno  and  several  persons  who  were  assisting  at  the 
sitting  added,  by  their  terror,  to  my  discomfiture ;  and,  for  a 
moment,  I  thought  all  was  over  and  that  the  soul,  in  very  deed, 
had  left  its  body.  I  begged  all  present  to  pass  into  the  next 
room,  so  as  to  recover  my  energy ;  but,  though  hope  still  lin- 
gered, I  felt  powerless.     Throwing  myself  on  my  knees,  I  im- 

*  I  adopt,  from  the  French,  the  term  somnambule,  to  designate  a 
patient  under  the  influence  of  artificially-induced  somnambulism  ;  re- 
stricting the  meaning  of  the  more  usual  wori  somnambulist  to  a  natural 
Bleep-walker. 


BECOMES    GEEATLY   ALARMED.  251 

plored  God  not  to  suffer  that  soul,  a  victim  of  my  doubts,  tc 
pass  away.  After  a  brief  period  of  anguish,  I  heard  the  low 
words :  "  Why  did  you  recall  me  ?  It  was  all  but  done,  when 
God,  touched  by  your  prayer,  sent  me  back."  * 

The  author  adds :  "  I  entreat  those  who  might  be  tempted  to 
risk  a  similar  experiment  to  desist.  A  more  terrible  spectacle 
Ciinnot  be  witnessed  ;  and  the  issue,  in  their  case,  might  be  lesg 
fortunate  than  in  mine." 

On  a  previous  occasion,  Adele  being  in  the  state  of  extase, 
there  had  appeared  to  her,  and  conversed  with  her  (as  she  be- 
lieved), her  mother  and  two  deceased  brothers.  The  following 
conversation  between  her  and  her  magnetizer  then  ensued : 

"  Ah,  how  I  should  like  to  be  with  them  !  Let  me  go ;  I 
shall  soon  be  in  Heaven." 

"  Very  generous  of  you  !  And  what  shall  I  do  with  your 
body?" 

"  Have  it  buried,  or  disposed  of  as  you  please." 

"  And  the  officers  of  justice,  what  am  I  to  say  to  them  ?  " 

"  Tell  them,  I'm  gone."  f 

That  there  is,  during  magnetic  sleep,  a  modification  of  the 
normal  relations  between  soul  and  body,  is  further  attested  by 
the  insensibility  to  outward  soimds  and  to  pain,  even  the  most 
acute,  which  sometimes  supervenes.  J     One  cannot  read  the 

*  Cahagnet  :  Ar canes  de  la  Vie  Future  devoiles,  Paris,  1848  ;  vol.  i.^^ 
pp.  117, 118.    This  work  went  to  press  ia  December,  1847,  some  months 
before  even  the  name  of  '•Rochester  Knockings"  had  been  heard 
among  us.     Yet  Cahagnet  registers  full  details  of  communications  made  / 
to  his  somnambules  by  eighty  different  spirits  of  the  departed  ;  and  th^ 
identity  of  several  among  these  he  considers  positively  proved. 

f  Work  quoted  :  vol.  i.  pp.  90,  91. 

X  As  early  as  the  year  1846,  there  was  performed  at  Cherbourg  (the 
well-known  French  port  in  the  Department  de  la  Manche),  a  surgical 
operation  of  the  most  painful  character,  affording  proof  that  the  phe- 
nomena above  alluded  to  are  real.  The  official  record  of  this  operation, 
gigned  by  fifty-two  witnesses  present,  was  published  in  the  Journal  dA 
Cherbourg^  and  iu  the  PJiare  de  la  Manche  of  September  25,  1846. 
This  proces-verbal  was  drawn  up  from  notes  taken  on  the  spot  by  M, 


252  GBEATLY   INCKEASED   INTELLIGENCE 

best  works  on  Magnetism  without  coming  upon  strong  reasons 
for  the  belief  that,  in  the  profound  magnetic  trance,  there  is  a 
certain  recession  of  the  soul  from  its  earthly  minister  and  an 
approach  to  that  stage  of  existence,  soon  to  come,  when  what 
St.  Paul  calls  the  "  natural  body  "  will  be  wholly  discarded. 

Another  phenomenon  is  now  proved  beyond  reasonable  de- 
nial ;  namely,  that,  during  this  partial  segregation  of  the  soul 
from  physical  impressions  and  worldly  concerns,  its  native 
powers,  less  subjected,  it  would  seem,  to  the  earth-clog  that 
habitually  weighs  upon  them,  exhibit  clearer  perceptions  and 
higher  knowledge.  This  occurs  when,  as  Socrates  expressed 
it,  the  soul  "retires  within  itself,"  or,  as  Cicero  phrases  it, 
when  we  "  recall  the  soul  to  itself,  and  to  self-communion ; " 
v/hcther  this  be  done  artificially  (as  by  magnetic  passes),  or 
whether  it  happen  in  a  more  normal  condition  of  the  body,  by 
natural  idiosyncrasy. 

The  most  modest  and  cautious  of  writers  on  Vital  Magnet- 
ism, Dr.  Bertrand,*  has  well  defined  this  state,  when  artifi- 
cially superinduced  :  "  The  somnambule,"  he  says,  "  acquires 
new  perceptions  furnished  by  interior  organs  ;  and  the  succes- 
sion of  these  perceptions  constitutes  a  new  life,  difiering  from 
that  which  we  habitually  enjoy  :  in  that  new  life  come  to  light 
phases  of  knowledge  difiering  from  those  which  our  ordinary 
sensations  convey  to  us."  f 

I  myself  have,  on  many  occasions,  verified  this  phenomenon 
of  what  may  be  called  double-consciousness,  J  attended  by  exal- 

Shevrel,  advocate  and  member  of  the  Municipal  Council  of  Cherbourg ; 
and  to  its  scrupulous  accuracy  the  signatures  of  the  witnesses  testify. 

I  should  here  give  this  proces-verhal  but  for  its  length,  and  for  the 
fact  that  enlightened  physicians  no  longer  deny  the  reality  of  this  phe- 
nomenon. 

*  Member  of  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  of  Paris,  and  formerly  a  pupil 
of  the  Polytechnic  School. 

\  Bertrand  :  "Traite  du  Somnambulisme,"  Paris,  1823  ;  pp.  469, 
470.  N^ 

X  An  interesting  case  of  natural  double-consciousness,  continued  \ 
throughout  fifteen  years,  is  related  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Plumer,  in  Harpewf  I 
Monthly  for  May,  1660,  page  807.    It  is  suggestive.  / 


IN  THE  SOMNAMBULIO  STATE.  253 

fcation  of  intelligence  in  the  abnormal  state.  But  others  can 
speak,  as  to  this,  from  a  much  wider  range  of  experience  than 
I.  A  physician  with  whom  I  am  intimately  acquainted — one 
am  jng  the  best  known  and  most  successful  in  New  York — and 
his  wife,  having,  before  the  advent  of  Spiritualism,  taken  a 
deep  interest  in  magnetic  phenomena,  experimented  for  about 
two  years  with  an  American  sempstress,  moderately  educated, 
with  rather  more  than  the  average  mental  capacity  of  her  class. 
lie  told  me  that  Marian  awake  and  Marian  in  magnetic  sleep 
were  two  persons  as  far  apart  by  perceptionSj  intelligence,  judg- 
ment, as  could  well  be  imagined.  One  day  when  we  were  talk- 
ing of  magnetism  and  its  effects,  be  told  me  that  the  girl  had 
made  commentaries  upon  medical  and  philosophical  subjects, 
evincing  great  profundity  and  acuteness.  On  many  other  sub- 
jects she  was  equally  clearsighted.* 

While  adverting,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  inspira- 
tion, to  such  phenomena  as  the  above,  occurring  under  the  op- 
eration of  a  special  agency,  I  bear  iu  mind  that  the  world  has 


*  But  here  is  a  supplement  to  sucli  experience.  Dr.  Bertrand,  speak- 
ing of  sonmambules  whose  power  of  clear-sight  in  detecting  disease  had 
been  satisfactorily  verified,  relates  the  following  conversation  which  he 
had  with  one  of  them  : 

"  Do  you  see  your  heart  and  the  blood  flowing  from  it  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Can  you  perceive  that  it  is  divided  into  two  cavities  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  see  one  on  the  right  and  one  on  the  left." 

"  Then  tell  me,  is  the  blood  of  the  same  color  on  both  sides  ?" 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  in  a  decided  tone,  "  and  to  prove  to  you  that  it 
is,  you  may  bleed  me  here  or  here  (touching  first  her  right  arm  then  hei 
left),  and  you  will  find  the  same  blood." 

"  This  reply,"  says  Bertrand,  "  plainly  showed  that  this  woman  im- 
agined there  were  two  cavities  in  the  heart,  from  one  of  which  flowed 
the  blood  to  supply  the  right  side  of  the  body  and  from  the  other  to 
supply  the  left." — Traite  du  Somnambulisme.,  p.  73. 

In  all  such  cases  there  is  the  chance  of  what  magnetizers  call  "im- 
perfect lucidity."  It  vdll  not  do,  as  Socrates  recommended,  to  alistaiD 
from  the  use  of  our  eyes. 


254  ILLOGICAL   CONCLUSION   OF   A   PRINCE. 

recognized  them,  in  this  special  form,  for  less  than  a  century.'' 
But  the  analogy  between  these  and  the  various  phases  of  intel- 
lectual and  psychical  exaltation,  religious  ecstasy,  involuntary 
hypnotism,  spontaneous  trance,  is  so  close  that  one  cannot  rea- 
sonably deny  the  connection  of  one  with  the  other.  Llost  oi 
the  spiritual  gifts  enumerated  by  Paul  come  to  light,  in  persons 
of  sensitive  temperament,  during  magnetic  sleep,  and  showed 
themselves  during  such  strange,  epidemical  excitements  as 
produced  the  alleged  possession  of  the  Ursuline  Nuns  of  Lou- 
dun  f  (1632  to  1639),  and  brought  out  pseudo-miracles  among 

*  Somnambulism,  in  the  form  now  known  to  magnetizers,  was  ob- 
Berved  for  the  first  thne,  by  the  Marqxiis  de  Puysegnr,  on  his  estate  of 
Buzancy,  near  Soissons,  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1784. 
/^  f  Histoire  des  Diahles  de  Loudun^  ou  de  la  Possession  des  Rdigieuses 
/  UrsuUnes,  Amsterdam,  1670.     At  page  235  of  this  work  is  a  curious 
I   document ;  namely,  the  certificate  of  Monsieur  (Gaston,   brother  of 
f    Louis  XIII. ,  then  King  of  Prance),  who  visited  Loudun  in  May,  1635,  to 
inquire  into  the  character  of  the  alleged  possession.     He  certifies  that 
he  had  perfect  proof  of  its  reality  ;  namely,  that  the  possessed  nuns 
obeyed  his  mental  orders ;  in  other  words,  read  unexpressed  thoughts. 
He  says :  "  Ayant  desire  d'avoir  un  signe  parfait  de  la  veritable  posses- 
sion de  ces  fiiles,  avons  concerte  secrettement  et  a  voix  basse  avec  le 
Pere  Tranquille  Capucin,  de  commander  au  Demon  Sabulon^  qui  posse- 
doit  actuellement  la  Sosur  Claire,  qu'il  aUat  baiser  la  main  droite  du 
Pere  Elizee,  son  exorciste  ;  ledit  Demon  [meaning,  of  course,  the  nun 
herself  J  y  a  ponctuellement  obei,  selon  notre  desir  ;  ce  qui  nous  a  fait 
eroire  certainement  que  ce  que  les  religieux  travaillans  aux  exorcismes 
desdites  fiiles  nous  ont  dit  de  leur  possession  est  veritable." 
/'^But  this  phenomenon  of  thought-reading  is  familiar  to  magnetizers. 
I  I  myself  instituted,  in  the  years  1856  and  1857,  a  series  of  careful  ex- 
periments to  verify  it,  keeping  strict  minutes.     By  reference  to  these  I 
find  that  I  propounded  216  questions  and  obtained  about  ninety-three 
per  cent  of  pertinent  answers,  through  a  medium  (not  professional)  and 
of  but  moderate  powers.     Many  of  the  answers  extended  to  several 
lines ;  and,  apart  from  their  strict  relevancy,  were  beyond  the  mental 
capacity  of  the  medium.     The  following  may  be  taken  as  an  average 
example  ;  both  questions  being  asked  mentally : 

Q.  "  Can  you  teU  me  whether  spirits  have  the  powfjr  of  prophecy  ?  *' 
A.  ''  To  some  extent." 


WIDE    RAl^GE   OF   INSPIRATION.  255 

the  Prophets  (Trembleurs)  of  the  Cevennes*  (1686  to  1707). 
The  mantic  fury  of  the  Pythoness  was  evidently  of  magnetic 
cliaracter.  Numa,  in  the  Arician  grove ;  Mahomet,  in  the  cave 
of  Hira  ;  may  have  been  unconsciously  under  spiritual  or  som- 
nambulic influence.  Peter's  vision,  when  he  saw  Heaven  opened 
and  a  certain  vessel  descending ;  Paul's  trance,  "  whether  in 
the  body  or  out  of  the  body  "  he  could  not  tell ;  bear,  unmistak- 
ably, more  or  less  resemblance  to  many  hundred  cases  of  extase 
that  have  appeared  in  Paris,  in  London,  and  elsewhere,  during 
the  present  century.  All  such  manifestations  belong  to  one 
great  class  of  phenomena. 

The  simplest  and  most  usual  form  of  Inspiration  is  what  is 
usually  called  the  inspiration  of  genius ;  its  results  appearing 
in  eminent  Kterary  efforts,  in  masterpieces  of  art,  possibly 
in  some  of  our  most  wonderful  scientific  discoveries  and  me- 
chanical inventions,  more  evidently  in  the  highest  order  of 
musical  composition.  All  this  is  sometimes  ascribed  to  native 
organization  duly  cultivated,  f     But  aside  from  the  confessedly 

Q.  "  What  axe  the  Hmits  ?  " 

A.  "Perceiving"  more  than  men,  one  element  of  prophetic  power  is 
greater." — Extracted  from  sitting  of  April  11,  1857. 

A  concise  and  pertinent  reply,  not  so  much  to  the  words,  as  to  the 
sense  of  my  mental  question.  But  I  did  not  for  a  moment  imagine,  as 
Prince  Gaston  did,  that  the  Devil  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  It  pur- 
ported to  come  from  a  dear,  deceased  friend. 

For  further  references  on  the  subject  of  the  Ursuline  Nuns  of  Loudun, 
see  note  on  page  103  of  Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World.  ^ 

*  Sometimes  called  Camisards  or  Camisars.  They  were  French 
Protestants  who  took  arms  to  resist  persecution  under  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes. — See  Histoire  des  Camisards^  by  M.  de  Court  de 
Gebelin,  1760.  Also  Glavis  Prophetica^  or  a  key  to  the  prophecies  of 
Monsieur  Marion  and  the  other  Camisars,  London,  1707:  Nouveaux 
Memoires  pour  servir  a  VHistoire  des  Camisars^  London,  1708  ;  Examin 
du  Theatre  Sacre  des  Cevennes.  For  other  references  see  FootfdP,s^ 
note  on  page  103. 

f  See,  on  this  subject,  Mr.  Galton's  interesting  work  on  Heredi- 
tary Genius.  I  do  not  assert  that  in  tho  department  of  what  are  called 
the  exact  sciences — as,  for  example,  in  the  researches  of  Galileo  and  in 
those,  stiU  more  inestimable,  of  Newton — we  are  justified  in  assuming 


25 G  THEOEJES  lEO YOKED  BY  THE 

[)owerfiil  influence  of  a  large  and  well-formed  brain — the  best 
of  patriuionies — genius  may  owe  its  triumphs  to  agencies  that 
are  invisible,  like  attraction,  except  in  their  effects. 

Great  poets  from  the  earliest  times  have  had  a  dim  feeling 
that  they  were  aided  from  above,  and  were  wont  to  invoke  the 
assistance  of  unseen  Powers — may  we  not  say  (as  Socratea 
said),  \vith  reason?  When  a  poem  by  a  Greek  schoolmaster, 
dating  from  the  far  past,  still  invites  translation  by  our  ablest 
scholars,  calling  forth  the  same  admiration  to-day  with  whxch 
it  was  greeted  almost  three  thousand  years  ago ;  when  a  few 
dramas  by  a  comparatively  ilKterate  man*  are  found,  after 
three  centuries  have  elapsed,  to  have  furnished,  to  the  Saxon 
tongue,  one  fourth  of  its  household  words  ;  f  does  it  not  suggest 
the  probability  of  aid  from  a  higher  sphere  of  being?  The 
wondrous  character  of  these  results,  bewildering  the  world, 
has  provoked  sceptical  speculations  touching  their  authors ;  as 
if  the  effect  were  out  of  proportion  to  its  reputed  cause.  Pro- 
fessor Wolf  of  Berlin,  J  in  a  celebrated  work,  'denies  to  Homer 

that  Bpiritual  aid  was  granted.  Even  if  we  do  not  subscribe  to  the 
poet's  lines, 

"  Nature  and  Nature's  laws  lay  hid  in  night, 
God  said  '  Let  Newton  be  ! '  and  all  was  light " — 
we  cannot  but  admit  that  the  scientific  clearsight  of  England's  greatest 
physicist  was  almost  beyond  paraUeL     Still  it  was  of  mathematical 
charactar — strictly   material,  not  spiritual — and  may  have  been  but 
hereditary  aptitude,  appearing  in  eminent  degree. 

*  "It  is  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  Shakspeare's  iUiterature,  that 
it  was  maintained  by  all  his  contemporaries,  many  of  whom  have  be- 
stowed every  other  merit  upon  him,  and  by  his  successors  who  lived 
nearest  to  his  time :  and  that  it  has  been  denied  only  by  Gildon,  SeweU, 
and  others  down  to  Upton,  who  could  have  no  means  of  ascertaining 
the  truth." — Life  of  Slmkspeare  prefixed  to  Chalmers'  edition  of  his 
P:ays,  8  vols.,  London,  1823,  p.  14. 

\  In  Bartlett's  Familiar  Qaotati&ns  (American  edition,  1867),  out 
of  891  pages  of  noted  passages  from  various  English  authors,  94  pagei 
are  devoted  to  Shakspeare  alone. 

X  Frederick  Augustus  Wolf,  one  of  the  founders,  and  afterward  one 
of  the  Prof^sors,  of  the  University  of  Berlin.     The  work  aUuded  t< 


rNSPIEATION    OF    TWO    GREAT   POETS.  257 

the  authorship  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  even  castiag  doubts  on 
his  existence,  and  taking  the  ground  that  these  immortal  poems 
were  the  joint  production  of  many  successive  rhymers  and  rhap- 
Bodists.  So,  too^  in  the  case  of  Shakspeare,  a  cultivated  and 
most  industrious  writer  spent  her  life,  and  may  be  said  to  have 
lost  it,  in  collecting  and  giving  to  the  public  what  she  believed 
to  be  proof  that  the  pupil  of  the  Stratford  free-school  was,  in 
no  sense,  entitled  to  the  authorship  of  the  plays  that  have  en- 
chanted the  world  under  his  name.  * 

So,  again,  in  regard  to  the  most  celebrated  among  painters : 
his  contemporaries  regarded  him,  and  his  biographers  speak  of 
him,  though  he  died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven,  with  a 
sort  of  reverence,  as  of  a  divinely-inspired  personage.  Yasari 
commences  his  life  thus :  "  The  large  and  liberal  hand  with 
which  Heaven  is  sometimes  pleased  to  accumulate  the  infinite 
riches  of  its  treasures  on  one  sole  favorite  ...  is  exem- 
plified in  the  instance  of  Raphael  Sanzio."  Again  he  says  that 
such  as  Raphael  "  are  scarcely  to  be  called  simple  men ;  they 
are  rather,  if  it  be  permitted  so  to  speak,  entitled  to  the  appel 
lation  of  mortal  gods."  And,  further  on,  he  speaks  of  this 
painter  as  one  of  those  "  who  by  some  special  gift  of  nature  or 
by  the  particular  favor  accorded  to  them  by  the  Almighty,  are 
performing  miracles  in  the  art."  f 

We  have,  so  far  as  I  know,  no  record  of  Raphael's  domestic 
life,  nor  any  collection  of  his  familiar  letters.     These  might 


above,  Prolegomena  ad  Homerum  (HaUe,  1795),  created  much  excite- 
ment in  the  literary  world  and  called  forth  many  replies. 

*  The  Philosophy  of  tJie  Plays  of  Shakspeanre  Unfolded^  by  Delia  Ba- 
con :  Boston,  1857. 

The  story  of  this  intellectual,  untiring",  and  eccentric  writer  is  one 
of  the  saddest  episodes  in  the  history  of  literary  enterprise.  Her  pe- 
culiarities and  her  fate — insanity  supervening  as  the  result  of  utter  dis- 
appointment— are  recorded  in  Hawthor:5Te's  Otr  Old  Rome;  chapter 
eatiiHed  HeGolleotions  of  a  Gifted  Woman.  ^ 

\  Vasari  :  IAT>e%  of  tlie  Painters  (Foster's  Translation,  London,  1851), 
Tol.  lit  pp.  1,  3,  58. 


258  MUSICAL    INSPIRATION   OF 

have  disclosed  liis  own  consciousness  of  the  Inspiration  that 
marks  the  artistic  temperament. 

We  have  direct  evidence  of  this  kind,  however,  in  the  case"  ol 
two  of  the  world's  most  renowned  musicians. 

Beethoven,  speaking  of  the  source  whence  came  to  him  the 
spirit  of  his  wonderful  masterpieces,  said  to  "  Bettina  " : 
"  From  the  focus  of  inspiration  I  feel  compelled  to  let  the  mel- 
ody stream  forth  on  all  sides.  I  follow  it — passionately  over- 
take it  again ;  I  see  it  escape  me,  vanish  amid  the  crowd  of 
varied  excitements — soon  I  seize  it  up  again  with  renewed 
passion  ;  I  cannot  part  from  it — with  quick  rapture  I  multiply 
it  in  every  form  of  modulation — and  at  the  last  moment  I 
triumph  over  the  first  musical  thought — see  now!  that's  a 
symphony."  * 

Even  more  striking  is  the  following,  from  a  letter  written  by 
Mozart  to  an  intimate  friend :  "  You  say  you  should  like  to 
know  my  way  of  composing,  and  what  method  I  follow  in  writ- 
ing works  of  some  extent.  I  can  really  say  no  more  on  this 
subject  than  the  following ;  for  I  myself  know  no  more  about 
it  and  cannot  account  for  it.  When  I  am,  as  it  were,  com- 
pletely myself,  entirely  alone  and  of  good  cheer — say  travelling 
in  a  carriage,  or  walking  after  a  good  meal,  or  during  the  night 
when  I  cannot  sleep ;  it  is  on  such  occasions  that  my  ideas 
flow  best  and  most  abundantly.  Whence  and  how  they  come 
I  know  not ;  nor  can  I  force  them.  Those  ideas  which  please 
me  I  retain  in  memory,  and  am  accustomed,  as  I  have  been 
told,  to  hum  them  to  myself.  If  I  continue  in  this  way,  it 
soon  occurs  to  me  how  I  may  turn  this  or  that  morsel  to  ac- 
count, so  as  to  make  a  good  dish  of  it ;  that  is  to  say,  agreeably 
to  the  rules  of  counterpoint,  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  various 
instruments,  and  so  on.  All  this  fires  my  soul,  and,  provided 
I  am  not  disturbed,  my  subject  enlarges  itself,-  becomes 
methodized  and  defined ;  and  the  whole,  though  it  be  long, 
stands  almost  complete  and  finished  in  my  mind,  so  that  I  can 

*  GoETiiE  :   Briefioechsd  mit  einem  Kinde. 


BEETHOVEN  AND  MOZAET.  259 

survey  it,  like  a  fine  picture  or  a  beautiful  statue,  at  a  glance 
Nor  do  I  hear,  in  imagination,  the  parts  successively ;  but  ] 
hear  them,  as  it  were,  all  at  once  (gleich  alles  zusammen). 
What  a  delight  this  is  I  cannot  tell !  All  this  inventing,  thia 
producing,  takes  place  in  a  pleasing,  lively  dream.  Still  the 
actual  hearing  of  the  entire  whole  is  after  all  the  best.  What 
has  been  thus  produced  I  do  not  easily  forget.  And  this 
is  perhaps  the  best  gift  I  have  my  Divine  Maker  to  thank 
for."  * 

These  hints  and  suggestions  are  necessarily  bald  and  imper- 
fect :  necessarily,  because  the  civilized  world  has  but  recently 
begun  to  study  Inspiration,  as  a  universal  agency,  in  its  con- 
nection either  with  the  trance-faculty,  or  with  the  Spiritual 
hypothesis;  and  because,  on  that  account,  experience  along 
either  of  these  lines  of  research,  is  only  beginning  to  accumu- 
late. It  has  not  yet  become  a  common  belief  that  one  of  the 
sources  of  man's  noblest  achievements,  literary,  artistic,  spirit- 
ual, is  in  an  ultramundane  sphere.  We  puzzle  over  the  anom- 
alies of  human  character — its  extremes  of  good  and  evil — re- 
peating 

'*  How  poor,  how  rich ;  how  abject,  how  augtist ; 
How  complicate,  how  wonderful  is  man !  " 

But  we  do  not  work  out  one  of  the  explanations.  We  have 
not  practically  realized  how  much  the  soul's  bondage  to  the 
body  tends  to  dull  its  perceptions  and  check  its  best  aspirings : 
nor  how  it  aspires  more  freely  and  discerns  more  clearly,  when 
the  severity  of  that  bondage  is  relaxed.  Nor  have  we  practi- 
cally realized  how  much  man  may  learn  and  may  improve  in 
wisdom  and  in  goodness,  by  being  occasionally  admitted  to 
communion  with  a  higher  phase  of  being ;  nor  how  grievous  a 
loser  he  may  be,  if  debarred  from  such  communion.  We  do 
not  practically  believe  what  Christ  has  told  us  of  a  Spirit  oi 

*  Holmes  :  Life  of  Mozart,  including  7us  Correspondenoe ;  London, 
1845  :  pp.  317,  318. 


260  THE  TITANIO   STEPS 

Truth,  to  come  after  him,  who  should  "guide  us  into  alJ 
truth." 

Our  researches  in  this  matter  have  hitherto  been  prosecuted 
in  far,  misty  clouds ;  not  on  the  fair  earth,  illuminated  from 
on  high. 

I  think  one  reason  for  this  is  that  the  marvellous  light  which 
dawned  upon  the  world  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  has  dazzled 
and  blinded,  even  while  it  has  informed  and  improved  man- 
kind. It  was  a  spiritual  phenomenon  alike  without  example 
throughout  all  history  and  (to  our  remote  ancestors)  without 
apparent  solution  short  of  the  miraculous:  without  example 
not  solely,  nor  perhaps  chiefly,  on  account  of  the  wonderful 
works  done  by  Christ ;  for  the  Jews,  in  their  history,  and  even 
the  Romans  and  Greeks  in  their  mythology,  could  find  more 
or  less  of  precedent  for  many  of  these  ;  but  because  the  liglit  oi 
Christianity,  alike  in  its  moral  and  spiritual  aspect  and  in  its 
effects,  is  without  parallel  in  man's  previous  experience.  Not 
thus  appearing,  at  first,  except  to  a  small  band  of  followers ; 
but  gradually,  as  it  rose  upon  the  mind  and  soul  of  the  world, 
has  that  light  shone  as  might  a  sun,  rising  for  the  first  time 
upon  an  earth  of  which  the  inhabitants,  till  then,  had  lived  and 
labored  under  starlight. 

Is  such  a  simile  to  be  rejected  because  it  admits  what  seems 
at  variance  with  all  we  see  of  the  course  of  nature  ?  Let  us 
not  hastily  decide  that  there  is  such  variance :  Nature's  action 
is  multiform. 

While  God's  works  around  us  bear  evidence  that  the  princi- 
ple of  gradual  progression  pervades  the  entire  economy  of  the 
universe,  and  that  natural  laws  are  invariable  and  persistent, 
still,  under  that  economy  and  governed  by  these  laws,  there 
occur,  at  certain  epochs,  vast  steps  in  human  progress :  even 
as,  from  time  to  time,  political  revolutions  supervene  which, 
while  changing  the  wonted  action  of  long-standing  government, 
sometimes  bring  about  in  years  an  advance  w^hich  ages  had 
failed  to  effect. 

History  contains  nothing  more  interesting  than  the  record 


OF   THE   WORLD.  ^01 

of  those  gigantic  steps ;  each,  apparently,  witliont  precedent , 
each  breaking  in  on  the  monotonous  pace  of  the  world.  In 
cosmical  history  what  incident  stands  by  the  side  of  the  single 
discovery  of  Columbus,  giving  to  the  ancient  world  another 
half  of  our  globe,  about  which  to  speculate,  in  which  to  live  ? 
The  annals  of  literature  record  no  victory  to  match,  in  practical 
result,  the  triumph  of  Faust,  if  to  the  goldsmith  of  Mentz  be 
due  the  art  of  printing ;  that  art  which  enables  one  man  to 
converse  with  all  his  race.  Even  the  world  of  Invention,  where 
labor  toils,  has  had  its  Titanic  epoch,  occurring  little  more  than 
a  century  since  ;  that  epoch  at  which  steam  began  to  take  the 
place  of  bone  and  sinew;  at  which  the  distaft'  and  spinning- 
wheel,  humble  aids  to  human  workers  throughout  three  thou- 
sand years,  were  at  last  superseded  by  a  Briarean  system  of 
manufacture  that  has  multiplied  five-hundred  fold  the  produc- 
tive labor-power  of  mankind.* 

In  the  individual  life  of  man,  strictly  progressive  though  it 
be,  we  find  a  still  more  remarkable  phenomenon  connected  with 
an  unprecedented  advance.  Infant,  child,  adult,  patriarch — 
the  boundaries  which  mark  each  successive  state  are  impercep- 
tible ;  but  then  comes  the  great  epoch :  the  point  of  progress 
when  our  powers,  perceptive,  intellectual,  spiritual,  are  sud- 
denly increased  we  know  not  how  much ;  when  our  means  of 
communicating  with  our  fellows  are  freed  from  bounds  alike  of 
time  and  space ;  when,  like  Columbus,  we  are  borne  into  a  new 
world. 

So,  again,  in  regard  to  the  succession  of  animal  life  on  earth, 
reaching  back  into  prehistoric  time.  Geology  informs  us  that 
there  was  a  period  of  untold  duration  when  this  world,  occu- 
pied by  the  lower  races,  was  uninhabited  by  man.  An  eminent 
modem  naturalist,  f  exploring  that  peiiod  and  investigating 
the  principle  of  vital  progress,  has  brought  prominently  for- 

*  See  preceding  page  45. 

t  Chakles  Dakwin,  A.m.,  F.R.S.  On  the  Origin  of  Species  bp 
Means  of  Natural  Selection;  or^  the  Preservation  of  Favored  Raaes  in  tli4 
Struggle  for  Life :  London,  1859. 


262 


ward  ?.  great,  general  law  governing  gradual  improvement  ol 
species  hj  means  of  natural  selection  and  tlie  preservation  oi 
the  best  out  of  each — both  animal  and  vegetable — in  the  struogle 
for  existence.  But  he  has  adduced  no  facts  attesting  change  of 
one  species  to  another ;  nor  disclosed  to  us  any  link  connect- 
ing brute  and  man.  *     There   remains,  therefore,  intact,  the 

*  It  has  been  surmised  that  ratermediate  forms  between  the  higher 
quadrumana  and  the  lowest  variety  of  cave-dwelliag-  bumanity  may 
some  day  be  found ;  perhaps  in  large  unexplored  portions  of  interior 
Asia  or  Africa ;  but  this  is  mere  surmise,  unsustained,  as  yet,  by  dis- 
covery. 

The  advocates  of  the  Development  theory  admit  the  extreme  'difficiil- 
ties  which  stand  in  the  way  of  assigning  to  man  predecessors  from  a 
lower  race.  "  Admitting,"  says  one  of  them,  "  man's  structural  modi- 
fications from  the  species  that  stand  next  under  him,  there  stiU  remains 
the  fact  that  something  new  has  been  superadded — the  organization 
fitted  for  higher  functional  performjjuce,  the  intellect  capable  of  im- 
provement and  progress.  On  no  theory  of  mere  transmission  or 
heredity  can  these  be  accoimted  for.  The  predecessor  did  not  possess 
them  and  could  not  bequeath  them."  -David  Page,  LL.D.  ;  F.R.S.E.; 
F.G.S.  :  Man,  Where,  Wience,  and  Whither;  Edinburgh,  1867;  pp. 
152, 153. 

Another  writer  on  this  subject — one  of  the  earhest  suggesters  of  the 
"natural  selection"  theory — makes  quite  recently  the  following  ad- 
missions :  ''  The  capacity  to  form  ideal  conceptions  of  space  and  time, 
of  eternity  and  infinity — the  capacity  for  intense  artistic  feelings  of 
pleasure,  in  form,  color,  and  composition — and  for  those  abstract  no- 
tions of  form  and  number  which  render  geometry  and  arithmetic  pos- 
sible— how  were  all  or  any  of  these  faculties  first  developed  when  they 
could  have  been  of  no  possible  use  to  man  in  his  early  stages  of  barbar- 
ism ?  How  could  "  natural  selection,"  or  survival  of  the  fittest  in  the 
struggle  for  existence,  at  all  favor  the  development  of  mental  powers 
.  .  ,  which  even  now,  with  our  comparatively  high  civilization,  are, 
in  their  farthest  developments,  in  advance  of  the  age,  and  appear  to 
have  relation  rather  to  the  future  of  the  race  than  to  its  actual 
status  ?  " — Wallace  :  Contributions  to  the  Theory  of  Natural  Sdectimi^ 
London  and  New  York,  1870  ;  pp.  351,  353. 

It  is  diflacult  to  conceive  a  state  of  things  in  which  there  must  not, 
in  any  event,  have  been  some  year,  some  month,  some  day,  when  there 
existed  on  earth  no  animal  endowed  with  capacity  for  intellectual  and 


263 


hypothesis — surely  not  an  unreasonable  one — ^that  there  in- 
hered, in  the  law  which  regulated  preadamite  life,  a  condition 
according  to  which  a  creature  endowed  with  reason  and  gifted 
with  faculties  and  sentiments  that  enable  him  to  conceive  and 
desire  a  Hereafter,  did,  at  a  certain  point  of  advancement,  sud- 
denly appear ;  a  creature  destined  to  subjugate  earth  and  attain 
heaven.  The  vast  induction,  if  one  may  so  express  it,  failed  at 
a  certain  stage  of  cosmical  development ;  and  the  progi*essive 
ratio  of  the  past  series  was  no  longer  the  progressive  ratio  of 
the  succeeding.  For,  in  virtue  of  a  stride  surpassingly  great, 
there  assumed  place  in  the  world  a  race — the  only  one  * — ^which 
could  transmit  the  experience  of  one  generation  to  another,  and 
which,  after  a  time,  learned  to  perpetuate  that  experience  by 
artificial,  enduring  signs.  Hence,  as  result  of  a  single,  unex- 
ampled step  in  advance,  ethical,  intellectual,  spiritual  prog- 
ress. 

And  now,  reverting  from  this  digression  to  the  subject  im- 
mediately before  us,  we  find  the  same  analogy  still  holding  out. 
The  history  of  Ethics  and  of  Religion,  like  that  of  Cosmogony 

spiritual  improvement  from  generation  to  generation  ;  and  then  again, 
some  next  year,  or  next  month,  or  next  day,  when  such  an  animal — 
that  is  to  say,  when  a  man — came  into  existence.  The  question  is  of 
capacity^  how  undeveloped  soever,  however  useless  to  palaeozoic  man  : 
the  highest  quadrumane  has  it  not ;  and  even  if  in  structural  formation 
he  approached  much  nearer  to  man  than  he  does,  the  possession  or  non- 
possession  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  possibilities  of  development  still 
establishes  a  great  gulf,  which,  if  not,  under  God's  economy,  impassa- 
ble is,  at  least,  so  far  as  human  research  has  explored,  unpassed. 

But  even  if  the  Development  theorist  should  succeed  in  tracing  man 
to  an  anthropoid- ape -ancestry,  or  to  an  Ascidian  origin,  still  a  vast  step 
in  advance,  however  effected,  is  not  the  less  a  reality ;  a  step  which 
seems  to  have  been  made  at  once  ;  at  all  events,  a  step  without  prece- 
dent in  fact  and  without  parallel  in  the  immensity  of  its  results. 

*  We  have  no  warrant,  so  far  as  I  know,  for  asserting  that  the  beaver 
of  to-day  exhibits  more  ingenuity  in  constructing  his  dam  than  did  the 
beaver  of  three  thousand  years  ago  :  nor  is  it  in  evidence  that  the  quad- 
rumane of  our  own  time  is  more  intelligent  than  was  the  same  animal 
ia  Homer's. 


264  AN   UNPRPXEDENTED   STEP. 

and  literature,  and  productive  Science,  has  its  epoch,  whenijc 
dates  a  ratio  of  advancement  till  then  unknown.  In  the 
earthly  progress  of  Spiritualism,  as  in  the  succession  of  races 
and  in  the  pilgrimage  of  human  life,  we  have  to  note  one  emi- 
nent step  upward,  as  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  sphere  of  be- 
ing. 

Unprecedented,  unlike  any  other  step :  the  progress  which 
followed  it  incomparable  with  the  march  of  any  other  revolu- 
tion, political  or  religious. 

The  establishing  of  a  kingdom  on  the  world  but  not  of  it ; 
called,  sometimes  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  yet  coming  not  by 
observation,* — heralded  by  no  earthly  pomp,  ushered  through 
no  opening  in  clouds  of  heaven — but  founded  lowly,  peacefully, 
silently,  in  the  heart  of  man.  Christ's  kingship  is  of  the  hu- 
man soul. 

If,  to  the  sceptical,  these  claims  seem  overstrained,  let  them 
look,  not  to  the  assertions  of  theologians,  nor  yet  to  the  uncer- 
tainties and  obscurities  of  remote  history,  but  to  acknowledged 
facts,  of  grand  outline,  familiar  to  every  educated  man. 

In  what  is  usually  called  the  civilized  world  millions  will 
say,  if  asked  as  to  their  religion,  that  they  are  not  Catholics, 
millions  more  that  they  are  not  Protestants ;  but,  excepting 
the  five  or  six  million  Jews,  we  shall  not  find  there  one  man  in 
a  hundred  who,  if  he  has  any  religion  at  all,  will  say  he  is  not 
a  Christian. 

If  the  Spiritual  Teachings  first  heard  in  Galilee,  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago  (aside  from  alien  creeds),  be  not  the  religion 
of  Civilization,  it  has  no  other.  What  we  may  justly  call  the 
most  enKghtened  portion  of  the  world  clings  to  these  teachings, 
despite  the  deadening  and  retractive  influence  of  alien  creeds. 

Is  it  strange  that  Christendom,  before  it  began  to  recognize 
the  universal  reign  of  law,  should  have  sought,  in  miraculous 
interference,  the  explanation  of  such  a  phenomenon  as  this  ? 
Is  it  strange  even, — considering  the  presumption  to  which  our 

*  Luke  xvii.  80. 


265 

short-sighted  race  is  prone — ^that  Orthodoxy,  knowing  no  natu- 
ral solution  of  such  an  enigma,  should  take  refuge  in  a  concep- 
tion— one  scruples  about  plainly  expressing  its  pretensions  ;  for 
these  not  only  involve  the  direct  intervention  and  suspension 
of  His  laws  by  the  Almighty  Creator  and  Lawgiver  of  myriads 
of  sun-systems  and  myriads  on  myriads  of  worlds ;  they  virtu- 
ally pre-suppose,  also.  His  presence,  in  human  form,  through- 
out a  generation  of  men,  on  this  small  planet  of  ours — all  the 
world,  indeed,  to  us,  but  a  mere  speck  in  immensity,  to  Him. 

^Yet  if  claims  so  transcendent  were  consonant  with  their  day 
and  generation,  none  the  less  they  are  now  furnishing  abundant 
food  and  occupation  to  Scepticism.  There  is  impregnable 
gi-ound  ;  but  Orthodoxy  forsakes  it,  straying  forth  into  the  lim- 
itless regions  of  Dogmatism.  It  seeks  miracles  through  the 
dim  perspective  of  eighteen  centuries ;  yet  the  mii'acle  of  mira- 
cles— if  the  marvellous  constitute  the  miraculous — lies  patent 
before  us;  is  cognizable  by  our  very  senses. 

Assume  Scepticism's  theory.  Here  it  is :  The  son  of  a  Jew- 
ish mechanic,  living  in  an  obscure  village  of  Galilee,  brought 
up  in  his  father's  house,  with  the  most  limited  opportunities  of 
culture,  without  access  to  the  literature  of  Greece  or  Kome, 
without  worldly  experience  to  replace  lack  of  learning,  and  also 
without  spiritual  aid — becomes,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  a  Public 
Teacher ;  continues  to  teach  during  three  years — three  only ; 
then,  because  of  the  latitude  of  his  opinions,  suffers  death. 
His  three-year  sayings  and  doings,  which  he  himself  never  com- 
mitted to  writing,  are  recorded,  within  half  a  century  from  his 
death  by  humble  and  comparatively  unlettered  followers.  Yet, 
after  more  than  fifty  generations  of  men  have  passed  away,  there 
is  found  in  that  record — and  in  that  record  alone — a  religion 
that  cultivated  men  can  indorse  and  civilized  nations  revere. 
Surely,  the  miracle  of  all  miracles ! — ^nay,  as  Scepticism  has 
put  it,  a  moral  and  intellectual  impossibility. 

The  impossibility  inheres  in  one  of  Scepticism's  postulates. 
**  Without  spiritual  aid."     If  such  aid  be  essential  t  !>  any  high 
12 


266  THE    AI^OTNTED. 

and  nibble  achievement  of  man,  is  it  conceivable  that  it  should 
be  lacking  in  connection  with  the  highest  and  noblest  of  all  ? 

(But  the  difficulties  attending  this  main  feature  in  the  seep 
tic's  hypothesis  do  not  end  here.  Unless  the  recording  disci- 
ples have  utterly  belied  their  Master,  it  involves  a  direct  charge 
of  falsehood  against  him.  For,  though  habitually  calling  him- 
self "  the  Son  of  Man,"  *  he  also  suffered  himself  to  be  called, 
and  claimed  to  be,  the  Messiah,  the  Christ,  ofttimes  spoken  of 
by  the  prophets  of  old,  and  long  expected,  as  Deliverer,  by  the 
Jews  In  other  words — let  those  who  doubt  my  rendering  con- 
sult the  lexicons,  Hebrew  and  Greek — in  other  words,  he 
claimed  to  be  the  Anointed  of  his  Father  f  and  our  Father ;  a 
divinely-commissioned  Messenger,  Prophet,  Spiritual  King. 
Shall  we  accord  to  him  these  titles  ?  There  is  no  sure  war- 
rant for  so  doing  to  be  drawn  from  history.  But  his  creden- 
tials are  to  be  found  in  the  Message  itself,  in  the  work  that, 
message  has  done,  and  in  the  recorded  life  of  the  Messenger. 

All  the  great  figures  of  antiquity  pale,  more  or  less,  under 
the  lights  of  modern  civilization,  save  only  that  of  Christ.  The 
thinking  world  has,  in  a  measure,  outlived  every  phase  of  re- 
ligious belief  except  Christianity.  That  was  planted  by  its  Au- 
thor so  far  beyond  the  point  of  progress  of  the  age  in  which  its 
precepts  were  first  heard,  that  the  current  of  eighteen  centuries, 
passing  by  all  other  systems,  has  failed  to  approach  this. 
Christ's  teachings,  proleptic  in  character,  are  still  in  advance 
not  of  the  modern  world's  purest  practice  only,  but  almost  of 
its  aspirations.     Can  we  deny  to  their  Author  his  own  claim 

r  *  The  term  "  Son  of  Man,"  as  applied  by  Christ  to  himself,  occurs 
i  some  eig-hty  times  throughout  the  four  gospel  narratives. 
\  f  Jesus  himself,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  ministry,  adopt-s  this  inter- 
pretation. In  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth,  after  publicly  reading  the 
words  of  Isaiah  (Ixi.  1),  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  be- 
cause the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the 
meek," — words  understood  by  the  Jews  of  the  Messiah — he  applied 
them  to  himself  :  "  This  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  ia  your  ears."— 
Luke  iv.  18,  21. 


WHAT   MAN   MAY   BE.  267 

tliat  on  Him,  the  Chosen  One,  had  been  poured  the  chrism  of 
Uod? 

That  was  the  reply  of  Christ's  most  trusted  Apostle,  interro- 
gated by  his  Master.  "  '  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am?  '  Peter 
answering  said :  *  The  Christ  of  God.' "  *  It  was  the  claim  put 
forth  by  the  same  apostle  in  the  first  public  address  which  he 
made  to  the  Jews  after  the  crucifixion :  for  in  that  he  desig- 
nated the  Great  Teacher  whose  disciple  he  was,  as  "  Jesus  ot 
Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God  by  miracles  (dunamesin), 
and  wonders  and  signs : "  and,  again,  with  slight  variation  ol 
phrase,  when  discoursing  before  Cornelias  and  his  Gentile 
friends  in  Caesarea :  there  speaking  of  his  Master  as  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  whom  God  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
power,  who  went  about  doing  good." 

— Doing  good  His  own  nature — his  character  and  his  do- 
ings, as  exhibited  in  the  gospel  biographies — are  almost  as  mar- 
vellous as  the  system  he  gave  to  the  world.  They  accord  nei- 
ther with  his  country  nor  with  his  time,  nor — except  as  one 
illustrious  example  disclosing  to  us  what  Man  may  be — with 
that  human  race  with  which,  on  a  hundred  occasions,  he  ex- 
pressly identified  himself.  It  were  difficult,  in  this  connection, 
to  improve  on  the  words  of  an  Anglican  clergyman,  whose  early 
death  was  a  misfortune  to  the  Church  he  adorned  :  "  Once  in 
the  roll  of  ages,  out  of  innumerable  failures,  from  the  stock  ot 
human  nature  one  bud  developed  into  a  faultless  flower.  One 
perfect  specimen  of  humanity  has  God  exhibited  on  earth. 
.  .  .  As  if  the  life-blood  of  every  nation  were  in  his  veins, 
and  that  which  is  best  and  truest  in  every  man,  and  that  which 
is  tenderest  and  gentlest  and  purest  in  every  woman  were  in 
his  character :  he  is  emphatically  the  Son  of  Man^''  \ 

Not  less  eloquent  on  this  subject  is  the  author  of  a  well- 
known  modern  work  :  "  The  story  of  Christ's  life  will  always 

*  Lukeix.  20. 

f  Sermons  by  tfie  Bee.  F.  W.  Eobertson,  Incumbent  of  Trinity  Chapel, 
Brighton;  sermon  xv. ;  pp.  365,  366  (of  New  York  Ed.,  1870).  The 
word  "  man"  is  italicized  bv  the  author. 


268  A    COMMUNICATION   TOUCHINO 

remain  the  one  record  in  which  the  moral  perfection  of  man 
stands  revealed  in  its  root  and  its  "unity,  the  hidden  spring 
made  manifest  by  which  the  whole  machine  is  moved.  .  .  . 
All  lesser  examples  and  lives  will  forever  hold  a  subordinate 
place,  and  serve  chiefly  to  reflect  light  en  the  central  and  orig- 
inal Example.  In  his  wounds  all  human  sorrows  will  hide 
themselves,  and  all  human  self-denials  support  themselves  against 
his  cross."  * 

Whence  this  preeminence  ?  The  germ  of  the  Godlike  lies, 
indeed,  deep  down  in  our  common  nature ;  but,  ere  it  fructify, 
— ■ — -^^here  must  be  divine  breathings  from  a  region  purer  than  ours. 
/  Whether,  in  this  supreme  instance  of  Inspiration,  these  Holy 
(  Breathings  f  assumed  an  unwonted  phase — executed  an  un- 
wonted oflice — what  mortal  shall  assume  to  decide  ? 

Yet  I  think  I  should  do  wrong  here  to  withhold  the  fact  that 
I  have  received  on  this  subject  a  communication — one  only  and 
that  unsought  for — which  I  believe  to  have  had  a  si3iritual 
source :  it  is  one  of  the  few  such  messages  that  have  ever 
reached  me,  touching  on  any  disputed  point  of  doctrine.  The 
reader   has   it  below,];  for  what  he  may  deem  its  allegations 


*  Ecce  Homo :  a  Survey  of  the  Life  and  Work  of  Jesus  Christ. 
London,  1866  :  pp.  188,  189.  This  work,  published  anonymously,  is 
now  known  to  have  been  written  by  Professor  Seeley,  filling  the  chair 
of  Modem  History  in  the  University  of  Cambridge. 

f  One  scruples  to  write  "  Holy  Breath,"  instead  of  "Holy  Ghost" 
(from  gast,  Ang-lo- Saxon  for  breath  or  sjnnt) ;  yet  the  terms  are  strictly 
synonymous.  Peter,  speaking  of  Jesus  as  a  man  ' '  whom  God  anointed 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power,"  certainly  employed  the  term  in 
some  such  sense.  Christ  himself,  when  he  spoke  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as 
the  "  Spirit  of  Truth,"  which  "  shall  not  speak  of  himself,  but  whatso- 
ever he  shall  hear  that  shall  he  speak,"  as  certainly  did  not  intend  there-  / 
by  to  designate  one  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead._ 

X  I  copy  literally  from  minutes  of  a  sitting  held  January  26,  1862, 
during  which  I  had  but  this  single  communication : 

"  Christ's  birth  was  by  inception,  not  by  conception.  Mary  inherited 
a  peculiar  physical  and  spiritiial  organization  from  her  ancestors  of 
David's  line.     She  was  pLaced  in  a  perfect  trance,  her  bodily  life  sus 


THE    BIKTH    OF    CHRIST.  269 

woitb.  These  involve  neither  suspension  nor  violation  of  nat- 
ural .law,  nor,  I  think,  any  improbability  so  violent  that  we 
must  needs  reject  it  straightway.     The  communication  alleges 

pended.  The  spiritual  fructifying  principle  was  received  during'  the 
trance.  Christ's  mortal  body  was  the  result  of  Mary's  perfect  faith, 
ruling  the  organism — a  faith  of  that  transcendent  kind  which  is  the 
centre  and  circumference  of  aU  that  is  to  be  desired.  It  is  a  literal 
truth,  and  no  figure,  to  say  of  such  faith  that  it  can  remove  mountains. 
Tt  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  common  faith  of  mankind  which  the 
crystallized  diamond  does  to  the  charcoal. 

'*  In  Mary's  case,  it  was  the  outgrowth  of  many  centuries.  It  was  a 
specific  faith ;  the  blossoming  of  that  belief,  preserved  through  ages, 
that  a  virgin  should  conceive  and  bear  a  son.  No  other  possible  con- 
junction could  have  produced  a  Christ.  Yet  there  was  no  suspension  of 
law.  His  birth  was  natural.  The  same  conjunction  of  circumstances 
recurring,  if  we  could  suppose  such  a  case,  a  similar  birth  might  happen 
again. 

"  It  was  necessary  for  Christ  to  stand  above  the  plane  of  mankind,  in 
order  to  draw  men  up  to  him.  He  was  devoid  of  appetite  and  passion 
to  a  degree  that  no  man  of  human  conception  could  have  been.  In  a 
human  and  bodily  sense,  he  was,  on  that  account,  a  less  complete  man. 
Yet  had  it  not  been  for  the  absence  of  these  appetites  and  passions,  the 
truth  could  not  have  come  to  us  through  him,  pure  as  it  did.  There 
would  have  been  obscurances  and  hindrances.  Under  their  influence  he 
could  not  have  preserved  his  integrity  as  a  Messenger.  He  would  have 
been  drawn  sympathetically  into  the  sphere  of  his  day. 

'*  Christ  felt  the  trials  and  temptations  that  assail  his  brethren  of 
mankmd,  even  more  acutely  than  they  did  themselves  ;  but  that  was 
because  of  the  strong  vepeUeiit  force  within  him ;  not  by  any  attrac- 
tion drawing  him.  These  temptations  did  not  attract,  they  only  pained 
him.  He  had  before  him  ever  the  eternal  laws ;  seeing  through  the 
Present  to  the  End." 

The  above  was  called  forth  by  no  question  of  mine,  direct  or  indirect. 
I  was  not  thinking  of  the  subject,  and  of  course  expected  nothing  of 
the  kind.  It  was  not  obtained  from  a  professional  medium.  The  lady 
through  whose  mediumship  it  came — a  relative  of  mine,  intellectual 
and  cultivated — is  a  Unitarian ;  believing,  in  her  normal  state,  that 
Jesus  was  bom  as  other  men.  It  purported  to  come  from  an  intimate 
and  highly-valued,  long-deceased  friend  (see  Book  iv.^  chapter  3) ;  and 
from  the  same  alleged  source  there  have  come  to  me  many  valuable 
teachings  on  ethical  and  other  cognate  subjects. 


270  THINGS   WE   ARE  ILL   ABLE   TO   TOUCH. 

''  that  Christ's  birth  occurred  under  circumstances  so  peculiar 
that  lie  grew  to  manhood  devoid  of  appetite  and  passion  to  a 
degree — necessary  to  his  pure  integrity  as  Teacher — which 
no  other  person  has  ever  shared.  At  this  stage  of  our  knowl- 
edge, I  feel  unqualified  to  avouch  such  a  theory,  and  unwilling 
to  gainsay  it.  Ungifted  with  spiritual  clearsight — seeing  here 
but  as  through  a  glass,  darkly — why  should  I  hasten  to  decide  ? 
I  am  content  to  wait — it  can  be  a  few  years  only,  now — for 
better  discernment  and  broader  light. 

The  able  author  last  quoted  jusb  touches  on  the  subject  ot 
Christ's  birth.  Speaking  of  the  spiritual  enthusiasm  which  char- 
acterized Jesus,  he  asks :  "  How  it  was  kindled  in  him  who 
knows  ?  "  And  his  reply  is :  *'  *  The  abysmal  depths  of  person- 
ality' hide  this  secret.  It  was  the  will  of  God  to  beget  no 
second  Son  like  him."  * 

Mr.  Gladstone,  the  British  premier,  alluding,  in  a  review  of 
the  work  where  they  appear,  to  the  above  words,  says :  "  They 
seem  to  deal  with  things  that  we  know  not  of,  and  are  ill  able 
to  touch."  f 

I  agree  with  him. 

Strange  ! — and  sad  as  strange — that  men  in  all  ages  have 
been  called  upon  to  touch,  to  deal  with — ay !  despite  sense  of. 
incapacity,  even  despite  counter  convictions,  compelled  to  decide 
—just  such  questions  ! 

— Called  upon  by  men  like  themselves,  not  by  God.  I  am 
not  more  conscious  of  my  own  existence  than  I  am  that  an  all  ■ 
wise  and  all-good  Being  will  never  remember  it  for  judgment 
against  me,  nor  against  any  of  His  creatures,  that,  after  best 
diligence,  we  have  been  unable,  as  to  many  such  arcana,  to  do 
more  than  confess,  that  we  comprehend  them  not. 

(So  far  only  I  see :  that  Jesus  was  divinely  favored  and  gifted 
to  an  eminent  degree — but  how  and  to  what  degree  I  have  no 
means  to  determine.     That  there  were  limits,  law-governed,  his 

*  Ecce  Homo^  p.  321. 

f  Ecce  Hmno  (reviewed),  by  the  night  Honorable  W.  E.  Gladstone 
London,  1868  :  p.  100. 


271 

biographers  inform  us.  In  Christ's  own  country,  where  mer< 
asked  one  another  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter,  the  son  of  Mary  ?  " 
he  "  could  do  no  mighty  work,  save  that  he  laid  his  hands  upon 
\  few  sick  and  healed  them  :  and  he  marvelled  because  of  their 
anbelief."  *  Again:  all  that  he  would  have  done  for  his  hard 
iiearted  countrymen  he  himself  tells  us,  in  words  breathing  the 
very  soul  of  sadness,  that  he  could  not  do :  **  Oh  Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets  and  stonest  them 
which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  undei 
her  wings,  and  ye  would  not ! "  f 

And  again,  who  shall  define  the  Kmits  of  his  knowledge? 
As  one  reads,  one  feels,  as  the  Jewish  officers  of  justice  felt : 
'*  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  Yet,  as  the  record  now 
vta,nds,  J  we  find  many  words  and  paragraphs  which,  if  we  are 

*  Mark  vi.  3,  5,  6.  Matthew,  in  the  concordant  passage,  says  that 
"he  did  not  many  mighty  works  there,  because  of  their  unbelief." 

f  Matthew  xxiv.  37. 

X  Take  an  example.  John  gives  a  prayer,  as  offered  up  by  Jesus, 
in  presence  of  his  apostles,  immediately  before  he  went  forth  into  the 
garden  where  he  was  betrayed.  There  is  no  other  example,  in  any  of 
the  gospels,  of  a  public  prayer  by  Christ.  He  retired  into  remote  soH- 
tudes  to  pray  (Mark  vi.  46 ;  Luke  vi.  12).  "  When  thou  prayest,"  he 
had  said,  "  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray 
to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret."  The  three  synoptical  evangelists 
agree  that,  at  the  most  solemn  hour  of  his  life — just  before  his  betrayal — 
Christ's  action  corresponded  to  his  precept,  and  that  he  did  not  pray  in 
their  presence.  At  Gethsemane,  says  Matthew,  he  said  to  his  disciples : 
'* '  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder : '  and  he  went  a  little  far- 
ther and  fell  on  his  face  and  prayed,  saying  :  '  Oh  my  Father,  if  it  be 
possible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ;  nevertheless  not  as  I  will  but  as 
Thou  wilt.' " 

Mark's  relation  is,  almost  word  for  word,  the  same  as  that  of  Mat- 
thew. Luke  says  he  withdrew  himself  from  them  about  a  stone's  cast 
and  kneeled  down  and  prayed :  '  Father,  if  thou  be  willing,  remove 
this  cup  from  me ;  nevertheless  not  my  wiU  but  thine  be  done.'  " 

I  believe,  with  Matthew  and  Mark  and  Luke,  that  the  communings 
of  Jesus  with  his  Father,  ere  he  went  to  death,  were  in  secret,  unheard 


272  IT   IS   DANGEROUS   TO    REPOSE 

to  accept  them,  clearly  show  that  Christ,  like  all  other  meii^ 
was  liable  to  error.  Examples  will  suggest  themselves  to  the 
dispassionate  Ltudent  of  the  gospels. 

Let  timid  souls  who  think  all  is  imperilled  if  a  single  imper 
fection  of  doctrine,  or  inaccuracy  of  record,*  be  suggested,  hera 
be  reminded  that  the  spiritual  system  of  Christ,  with  its  world- 
wide influence  on  man,  depends  not  at  all  on  non-essential 
incidemts  like  these.  Its  spirit  and  substance  and  efficacy  re 
main  intact.  It  profits,  none  the  less,  as  rule  for  human  con- 
duct  in  the  world  which  now  is,  and  as  guide,  much  needed, 
preparing  us  for  that  which  is  to  come. 

In  this  matter  it  is  dangerous  to  repose  confidence  in  inci- 
dentals, or  in  any  warrant  save  the  intrinsic  excellence  and 
inherent  power  of  the  Great  Teachings  themselves.  Not  on 
ancient  fortresses  of  stone,  how  seemingly  impregnable  soever, 
may  a  nation,  in  her  hour  of  peril,  rely  for  defence :  she  must" 
look  to  faithfulness  and  valor  and  affection,  animating  the 
hearts  of  her  defenders.  And  so  Christianity,  when  assailed 
by  the  legions  of  Doubt  and  of  Materialism,  must  not  put  her 
trust  in  the  old  evidences  of  tradition  or  of  remote  history, 
though  built  up  by  learning  and  entrenched  by  the  polemical 
labors  of  ages :  if  she  is  to  become  the  Religion  of  Civilization, 

by  mortal  ear ;  nor  do  I  doubt  that  the  brief  words  employed  by  the 
synoptical  evangehsts — sad,  fervent,  resigned — embody  the  spirit  o^ 
Christ's  secret  prayer. 

But  as  to  John's  narrative  the  internal  evidence  signally  fails. 
Christ's  love  was  of  that  eminent  character  which  carries  out  of  self, 
thinking  not  of  glorification ;  and,  above  all,  which  embraces  all  hu- 
mankind, unalloyed  by  trace  of  the  exclusive.  I  believe  that  the 
prayer  which  the  aged  apostle,  after  half  a  century  had  intervened, 
spread  over  his  seventeenth  chapter  was  but  what  he  himself  erringly 
conceived  to  have  been  his  Master's  feelings  ere  he  encountered  his  ene- 
mies ;  a  dociunent  not  more  trustworthy  than  the  long  speeches  which 
other  old  historians  have  imagined  for  their  heroes  on  the  eve  of  a 
battle.  I  am  unable  to  accept  it  as  Christ's,  either  in  the  spirit  or  in  the 
letter.     See  further,  as  to  this,  foot-note  on  next  page. 

*  Did  Christ  ever  declare  that  he  would  be  infallibly  reported ? 


CONFIDENOE  IN  INCIDENTALS.  273 

her  kingdom  must  be  protected  by  the  loyal  convictions  and 
the  bold  candor  and  the  enlightened  love  of  free  human  souls. 

Here  let  me  be  permitted  to  say  a  word  with  mere  personal 
reference  to  myself.  I  could  not  more  religiously  venerate  than 
I  now  venerate  Christ's  teachings  and  his  person ;  I  could  not 
more  deeply  feel  than  I  now  feel  the  bounden  duty  to  heed  his 
sayings  and  to  do  what  in  me  lies  toward  following  his  example 
— if  theologians  had  succeeded  in  beating  into  my  braiu  all  the 
perplexities  they  have  crowded  into  the  Athanasian  creed.  If 
others  find,  through  such  subtilties,  comfort  in  affliction, 
warmth  for  sinking  faith,  motive  to  stir  flagging  zeal,  incentive 
to  religious  duty,  it  is  well :  let  them  profit  by  what  they  are 
able  to  accept.  The  Alexandrian  Patriarch  does  not  speak 
either  to  my  heart  or  to  my  understanding.  They  who  can  re- 
ceive his  doctrine,  let  them  receive  it. 

If,  beyond  a  claim  to  be  the  promised  Messiah — the  Anoiuted 
Prophet  of  God,  commissioned  by  Him  to  redeem  the  world 
from  spiritual  darkness — there  be  any  reasonable  ground  for 
belief  that  Christ  declared  himself,  or  regarded  himself,  to  be 
one  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead,  I  confess  my  inability  to 
find  it.  *     Yery  rarely,  scarcely  half  a  dozen  times  throughout 

*  There  are  sundry  passages  in  John's  Gospel  which  must  be  taken 
as  asserting  this  dogma ;  but  John  wrote  thirty  or  forty  years  later 
fehan  the  other  evangeUsts,  ia  his  old  age  and  at  a  period  when  specula- 
tive doctrine  was  already  begiuning  to  obscure  the  noble  candor  of 
Christ's  words.  How  favorably  does  the  sitnpUcity  of  Luke's  opening 
verses,  inspiring  confidence  by  their  modesty,  contrast  with  the  mys- 
tical elaborateness  of  John's  !  Then  we  come  upon  such  texts  as  viii. 
23  ;  X.  8  ;  xvii.  9  (used  by  Calvin) ;  xvii.  5  ;  viiL  58 ;  vi  51,  54,  etc. 
When  one  reads :  "  Ye  are  beneath,  I  am  from  above ;  aU  that  ever 
came  before  me  are  thieves  and  robbers ;  before  Abraham  was,  I  am ; 
glorify  me,  O  Father,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the 
world  was ;  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  that  thou  hast  given 
me,"  with  other  sayings  of  similar  spirit — the  internal  evidence  fails ; 
we  no  longer  recognize  the  Christ  of  the  earlier  gospels. 

Yet,  withal,  though  John  is  almost  as  unequal  as  Paul,  we  could  aa 
ill  spare  many  portions  of  his  Gospel  as  we  could  certain  parts  of  Paul'i 
12* 


274  WHAT   IS   THE   JUST   INTERPRETATION 

the  three  synoptical  gospels,  does  Jesus  speak  of  himself  as  the 
**  Son  of  God:"*  not  nearly  so    cften  as  he  speaks  of  his 

epistles.  Like  Paul,  John  is  the  Apostle  of  Love,  in  its  purest  and 
widest  acceptation  ;  and  none  of  the  gospels  contain  a  narrative  more 
eminently  characteristic  of  the  gentleness  and  mercy  of  Christ  than 
John's  story  of  the  Fallen  One,  who  was  bid  to  go  and  sin  no  more. 
Its  lesson  is  only  beginning  to  make  its  way,  now  after  nearly  bro 
thousand  years,  to  the  hearts  of  men. 

*  This  expression,  as  applied  by  Christ  to  himself,  scarcely  occurs 
either  in  Matthew  or  Mark  or  Luke,  except  that,  when  interrogated  before 
tae  Ilx^-h  Priests  and  scribes  as  to  whether  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  he 
replied  :  "Ye  say  that  I  amj"  to  be  interpreted  as  assent;  but  even 
daring  that  very  interrogatory,  he  still  designates  himself  by  his  favor- 
ite expression,  "The  Son  of  Man."  According  to  John,  he  speaks  of 
himself  several  times  as  the  Son  of  God  (v.  25  ;  ix.  35,  36  ;  si.  4 ;  and 
on  one  or  two  other  occasio:as  more  or  less  directly)  ;  besides  assenting 
vxi.  37)  to  be  so  called  by  Martha.  But,  singularly  enough,  in  the  same 
gospel,  X,  38)  is  given  a  remarkable  conversation,  which  I  ch-n  inter 
pret  but  in  one  sense  : 

Christ  asks  the  Jews :  "  For  which  of  my  good  works  do  ye  stone 
m2?"  They  answer:  "For  a  good  work  we  stone  thee  not,  but  for 
blasphemy  ;  and  because  that  thou,  being  a  man,  makest  thyself  God. ' 

Here,  surely — in  the  sequel  to  the  colloquy — if  anywhere,  we  maj 
seek  the  clue  to  Christ's  exact  meaniag,  when  he  calls  himself  God's 
Son.  But  what  happens?  Does  he  admit  the  truth  of  the  Jews'  ac 
cusation  ?  On  the  contrary  Jesus  quotes  to  his  accusers  a  text  in  which 
the  author  of  one  of  the  Psalms,  speaking  of  men,  called  them  gods  j 
and  his  comment  on  that  text  is :  "  If  he  called  them  gods  to  when 
the  word  of  God  came,  and  the  Scripture  cannot  be  broken,  say  ye  ol 
him  whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified  and  sent  into  the  world  '  Thou 
blasphemest,'  because  I  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God  ?  " 

Did  Christ  here  evade  the  question,  seeking  to  deceive  the  Jews  ?  Wf 
cannot  for  a  moment  entertain  a  thought  so  derogatory  to  his  charac 
ter?  He  claimed,  indeed,  to  have  been  sanctified  by  the  "Father;'* 
he  claimed  to  have  been  sent  by  God,  as  Peter  and  the  rest  of  his  disci- 
ples afterward  claimed  for  him :  but  he  disclaimed  any  pretension  to 
godship  ;  explaining  to  them,  by  a  reference  to  their  own  Scripture, 
the  sense  in  which  he  applied  to  himself  the  title  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Had  they  listened  to  another  discourse  of  his  addressed  to  the  Saddu- 
cees,  and  had  they  profited  by  it,  they  would  not  have  needed  this  warn- 
ing against  the  ' '  letter  which  killeth  ; "  for  in  that  discourse  (Luka 


OF    THE   TEEM   "  SON   OF    GOD"?  275 

biethien  of  humankind  as  God's  sons  and  daughters ;  bidding 
m;  in  the  only  prayer  he  has  left  us,  to  address  the  Deity  as 
"  Our  Fatker."  Then,  too,  as  God's  messenger,  how  preemi- 
nent Ills  claims  to  the  title  he  now  and  then  assumes !  If,  as 
he  himself  teaehes,  the  peacemakers  are  to  be  called  the  Chil- 
dren of  God,  is  n6t  he,  the  Prince  of  Peace — the  Bearer  of  the 
Gor,pel  which  brings  "peace  on  earth,  good- will  to  men" — 
above  all  others  most  righteously  to  be  spoken  of  as  God's  be- 
Ir.  ved  Son,  in  whom  He  was  well  pleased  ? 

Christ  is  the  crowning  exemplar  of  the  Inspired  :  for  he, 
while  abiding  among  us,  lived,  more  nearly  than  any  other  oi 
God's  creatures  here,  within  sight  and  hearing  of  his  future 
home.  Therefore  it  is  that  his  teachings  are  the  noblest  fruits 
of  Inspiration. 

In  the  highest  phenomena  of  Spiritualism — in  other  words, 
in  the  best  examples  of  the  modern  phase  of  powers  and  gifts 
connected  with  Inspiration — may  be  seen  the  fulfilling  of 
Christ's  promise  to  Christians,  of  works  emulating  his.*  In 
the  purest  revealings  of  Spiritualism  may  be  found  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  other  promise  touching  the  imparting  of  truth 
and  comfort  through  holy  breathings  from  above. 

Primitive  Christianity,  the  greatest  of  all  reformatory  agen- 
cies, is  best  evidenced  through  modern  Spiritualism ;  for  the 
germ  of  modern  Spiritualism  is  in  primitive  Christianity.  In 
proportion  as  the  epiphanies  of  Spiritualism  are  studied  in  a 
Christian  spirit,  will  the  attention  of  the  world  be  withdrawij 

XX.  36),  spealcing  of  those  who  are  worthy  to  enter  Heaven,  he  had  said 
of  them  :  "  They  are  equal  unto  the  angels  and  are  the  children  of 
God." 

Whither  does  hteraUsm  lead?  To  repeat,  after  Luther:  "When 
Christ  says  '  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body,'  every  child  must  understand 
Jbhat  he  speaks  of  that  which  he  gives  to  his  disciples  "  (see  preceding 
page  50)  ;  and  so,  to  believe  in  the  "  real  presence : "  and  again,  interpret- 
ing according  to  the  letter  Matthew  xvi.  18,  19,  to  accept,  as  ScriptiutJ 
doctrine,  the  infaUibihty  of  the  Pope. 
*  John  xiv.  12 


I 

L 


276  PROVE   THE    SIGNS   AND   WONDERS. 

from  religious  dogmatism  and  concentred  in  Christ's  teachings, 
in  their  primitive  form. 

Can  more  powerful  motive  be  adduced,  to  make  proof  of 
these  signs  and  wonders  ? — rejecting  whatever  is  alien  and 
faithless,  but  holding  fast  to  all  that  is  loyal  and  good  ? 


CHAPTER  IV. 


DIFFICULTIES   AKD    PREJUDICES. 


**  A  subject  of  study  ought  not  to  be  abandoned  because  it  is  beset 
with  difficulties,  nor  because,  for  the  time  being-,  it  may  elicit  prejadioe 
or  encounter  contempt." — Bekzelius  :  JahresbericM^  1846. 

A  VERY  few  words  to  the  candid  reader,  ere  I  commence  my 
narrative-illustrations. 

Let  not  exception  be  taken  to  it  if  it  appear  that  such  re- 
searches have  been  chiefly  prosecuted,  at  the  outset,  in  a  some- 
what immethodical  or  rambling  manner,  and  under  the  leading 
of  volunteers  untitled  by  learned  societies.  This  may  be  for 
the  best,  even  if,  in  one  point  of  view,  it  is  to  be  regretted. 
It  may  be  for  the  best,  even  though  it  must  be  admitted  that, 
among  the  names  of  note  in  the  regular  ranks  of  science,  there 
are  men  who,  of  all  others,  are,  in  some  respects,  best  fitted 
here  to  head  the  advance,  and  to  obtain  for  us,  if  they  would, 
trustworthy  results. 

— In  some  respects.  For  in  alleging  the  peculiar  fitness  of 
distinguished  scientific  men  to  investigate  a  subject  like  that 
under  consideration,  the  opinion  is  to  be  received  with  consid- 
erable allowance.  Physical  Science  and  Vital  Science  alike 
disclose  a  great  class  of  phenomena;  the  one  distinct,  even  wide 
apart,  from  the  other.  Both,  indeed,  are  subject  to  fixed  and 
universal  laws :  the  reality  of  both  must  be  judged  according 
to  the  same  acknowledged  canons  of  evidence.  But  the  laws 
of  physical  science  apply  to  obdurate  matter,  that  has  no  ner^ 
vous  system  to  be  soothed  or  excited;  no  consciousness  to 
warm  under  kindness,  or  sufier  from  rude  ofience ;  no  sense  of 
wrong,  to  be  outraged  by  unjust  suspicion.     The  laws  of  vita/ 


278  PHYSICAL   AND   SPIKITITAL    SCIENCE 

science,  on  the  contrary,  govern  animate  agencies  of  delicate 
and  sensitive  and  changeful  organization.  The  materials  for 
experiment  are  of  two  entirely  different  classes,  and  mi'st  bo 
treated  accordingly.  Faraday  as  electrician,  Herschel  as  as- 
tronomer, Liebig  as  chemist,  have  been  studying  laws  under 
which  the  results  to  ensue  or  to  be  produced,  at  any  given  mo- 
ment, on  any  given  substance,  can  be  rigidly  controlled  or  pre- 
dicted; laws  which  are  the  fit  objects  of  mathematical  calcula- 
tion. The  habits  of  rigorous  investigation  acquired  by  such 
men  are  invaluable  ;  but  yet,  if  they  fail  to  bear  in  mind  what 
an  element  of  diversity  and  variableness  vitality  involves ;  and 
if  they  carry  with  them  into  investigations  undertaken  in  the 
province  of  organic  life  the  same  purely  materialistic  and  un- 
conditional standard  which  they  have  been  accustomed  to  apply 
within  the  domain  of  physics,  they  are  liable  to  go  far  astray 
and  to  miss  satisfactory  results.  Enlightened  members  of  the 
medical  faculty,  taught  by  experience,  know  this  well.* 

Then,  again,  whatever  the  qualifications  of  the  ablest  leaders 
in  science,  they  do  not  usually  esteem  it  their  vocation  to  lead 
the  vanguard  on  an  occasion  like  this.  They  abandon,  to  un- 
trained experimentalists,  an  unpopular  field.  Or,  if  they 
speak,  it  is  to  give  us  pr^udices  only.f     For  if  prejudice,  as  in 

*  Dr.  Holland  ( Ghapters  on  Mental  Physiology^  p.  2)  has  justly  re- 
marked :  "  Neither  those  accustomed  to  legal  evidence  only,  nor  such 
as  have  pursued  science  in  its  more  simple  forms,  can  rightly  estimate 
the  vast  difference  made  by  the  introduction  of  thq  principle  of  life,  or 
yet  more  of  the  states  and  condition  of  mind,  in  connection  with  bodily 
organization." 

Bichat  {Becherches  sur  la  Vie  et  la  Mort^  Art.  7,  §  1)  has  some  excel- 
lent remarks  on  the  same  subject.  He  reminds  us,  that  while  physics, 
chemistry,  and  the  like  are  sciences  that  approach  each  other,  "  an 
immense  taterval  separates  them  from  the  science  of  organized  bodies ; 
and  for  that  reason  the  latter  should  be  treated  in  an  entirely  different 
manner." 

f  An  exception  is  here  to  be  admitted.  An  English  periodical  of  re- 
pute, the  Popular  Science  Review^  edited  by  Mr.  Crookes,  an  eminent 
chemist  and  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  has,  iu  its  number  for  last 


NEED  DIFFEEINQ   MODES   OF   TREATMENT.  279 

etymological  strictness  it  mustj  be  construed  to  mean  a  judg 
inent  formed  before  examination,  tben  must  we  regard  as  pre* 
j  iidices  his  opinions,  however  true,  who  has  neglected  to  weigh 
them  against  their  opposites,  however  false. 

From  students  who  devote  themselves  exclusively  to  physical 
research  we  must,  as  a  general  nde,  expect  this.  ITiey  regard 
an  ulti-amundane  field  as  outside  of  their  jurisdiction.  The 
theory  of  intervention  from  another  sphere  of  being — the  idea 
of  spiritual  phenomena — is  alien  to  their  pursuits,  and  cannot 
win  the  scientific  ear  at  once.  The  growth  of  any  new-born  hy- 
pothesis, so  stai-tling  in  character,  resembles  that  of  a  human  be- 
ing. During  its  infancy  its  suggestions  carry  small  weight.  It  is 
listened  to  with  a  light  smile  and  set  aside  with  little  ceremony. 
Throughout  its  years  of  nonage  it  may  be  said  to  have  no  rights 
of  pi'operty,  no  privilege  of  appropriation.  Proofs  in  its  favor 
may  present  themselves  from  time  to  time,  but  they  are  not 
deemed  entitled  to  a  judgment  by  the  rules  of  evidence :  they 
are  listened  to  as  fresh  and  amusing ;  but  they  have  no  legal 
virtue  ;  they  obtain  no  official  record ;  they  are  not  placed  to 


July,  an  article  by  its  editor,  giving  a  detailed  account  of  experiments 
made  on  the  (alleged)  physical  powers  as  a  mediiun  of  Mr.  Home,  by 
himself  (Mr.  Crookes),  Mr.  Serjeant  Cox,  and  Dr.  Huggins,  distin 
guished  as  astronomer  and  prominent  member  of  the  Boyal  Society 
Mr.  Cox  and  Mr.  Crookes  acknowledge  that  these  experiments  seem  ta 
prove  the  existence  of  a  new  force  which  they  call  "  psychic"  :  while 
Dr.  Huggins,  more  non-committal,  admits  that  they  "  show  the  impor- 
tance of  further  iuvestigation. "  The  liondon  Spectator,  commenting 
on  this,  admits  that  there  is  primd-fade  evidence  of  the  phenomena ; 
and  adds,  as  to  the  alleged  "  new  force,"  that  "  it  is  most  desirable  that 
the  scientific  world  should  confirm,  or  explode,  the  hypothesis  of  its 
existence." — Spectator  of  July  8,  1871,  p.  828. 

The  experiments  included  the  playing  on  an  accordion  placed  inside 
a  copper-wire  cage  (purposely  prepared  by  Mr.  Crookes) ;  the  accor- 
dion tioating  without  apparent  support,  and  not  played  on  by  any  vis- 
ible agency.  A  comparatively  imimportant  phenomenon,  but  an  ex- 
cellent beginning,  nevertheless-  -a  beginning  that  may  lead — one  can- 
not tell  how  far. 


280  FATE   OF  AN  ENFANT   HYPOTHESIS. 

the  credit  of  the  minor.  An  adolescent  hypothesis  is  held  to 
be  outside,  the  limits  of  human  justice. 

We  ought  not  very  strongly  to  complain  of  this.  While  we 
may  condemn  the  manner  in  which  the  magnates  of  scisnJ.e  are 
wont  to  treat  spiritual  researches,  we  may  excuse  it  also.  The 
best  of  us  shrink  before  the  world's  laugh.  Franklin,  engaged 
in  one  of  the  most  sublime  experiments  ever  undertaken  by 
man,  sought,  it  is  said,  to  escape  the  chance  of  ridicule  by 
veiling  his  purpose.  He  took  with  him,  as  companion,  a  little 
boy  ;  that  ^he  kite,  destined  to  draw  lightning  from  the  thun- 
der-cloud, might,  in  case  of  failure,  pass  as  the  plaything  of  a 
child. 

But  is  nothing,  therefore,  to  be  done  ?  Because  men,  with 
ft  hard-won  -scientific  reputation  at  stake,  will  not  peril  it  in 
such  an  inquiry,  are  others,  more  hardy  if  less  well-trained  for 
the  task,  to  hold  back  ? 

I  have  put  that  question  to  myself  and  have  answered  it  in 
the  negative. 

I  proceed,  then,  to  adduce,  in  support  of  various  positions 
assumed  in  the  preceding  chapters,  a  few — ^my  space  admits  but 
a  few — of  the  many  Spiritual  phenomena,  spontaneous  and 
evoked,  that  have  occurred  under  my  observation,  or  come  to 
me  in  authentic  form,  during  the  last  fifteen  years. 


book:  II. 

SOME  CHARACTEEISTICS  OF  THE  PHENOMENA. 

**  Facts  like  these,  with  which  the  world  is  filled,  embarraas  strong 
minds  more  than  they  are  willing  to  acknowledge." — Batlb. 


CHAPTER  L 


THEIR   COMING   USUALLY  UNEXPECTED. 

"  Our  eyes  are  holden  that  we  cannot  see  things  that  stare  us  in  the 
face,  until  the  time  arrives  when  the  mind  is  ripened :  then  we  behold 


When  I  recall  what  happened  to  me  in  March,  1856,  I  am 
reminded  of  Emerson's  suggestive  words. 

Up  to  that  time  I  had  been  living,  as  so  many  millions  live, 
in  vague  unbelief  that  there  are,  in  this  world,  any  spiritual     vT 
agencies  <.*ognizable  by  the  senses.     I  had  barely  heard  of  the      yyC 
**  Rochester  Knockings,"  and  had  wondered  what  supreme  ab-^^ 
surdity  would  follow  next. 

I  was  then  in  Naples  where,  for  two  and  a  half  preceding 
y^ars,  I  had  held  the  post  of  American  Minister.  The  mem- 
bers of  our  diplomatic  corps,  living  on  pleasant  and  intimate 
terms,  were  in  the  habit  of  dropping  informally  into  each  other's 
apartments,  for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  evening.  To  this  habit  I 
am  indebted  for  a  strange  experience  which  I  shall  entitle 


282 

The  Maid  and  Cook. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  March  I  passed  the  evening  with  th« 

Russian  Minister,  Monsieur  K .     Besides  his  family  there 

were  present  the  Chevalier  de  F ,  Tuscan  Minister,  and  hia 

lady ;  together  with  several  visitors  from  different  parts  of  the 
world.  During  most  of  the  evening  we  spoke  English,  the 
Tuscan  Minister's  wife  being  from  England  and  another  ladj 
present  from  America. 

Madame  K ,  a  Parisian  by  birth  and  a  lady  of  varied 

information,  asked  me,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  if  I  had 
ever  heard  of  automatic  writing.  I  confessed  that  I  had  not. 
Then  she  expressed  her  belief  that  some  persons  had  the  power 
of  replying,  in  that  way,  to  questions,  the  true  answers  to 
which  were  unknown  to  them. 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  Madame  de  F ;  "  I  am  very  sure  you 

would  not  say  so  unless  you  were  quite  convinced  that  you  had 
proof  sufficient :  but  I  could  not  believe  anything  so  wonderful, 
unless  I  witnessed  it  myself." 

"  Let  us  try,  then,"  said  Madame  K ;  and  the  proposal 

was  eagerly  assented  to :  each  person  sitting  down,  putting  pen- 
cil to  paper  and  awaiting  the  result.  We  were  all  unacquainted 
with  Spiritualism  and  unbelievers  in  it. 

Nothing,  for  some  time :    then  one  hand,  that  of  a  Mrs. 

M ,  began  to  move,  making  irregular  figures  but  no  words 

or  letters. 

Then,  at   my  suggestion  that  we  should   test  the  matter, 

Madame  de  F asked   a  question :  "  Who  gave  me  these 

pins  ?  " — pointing  to  three  large  gold-headed  pins  that  fastened 

her  dress,  and  adding :  "  If  Mrs.  M can  answer  that,  I  shall 

believe." 

Fjr  several  minutes  that  lady's  pencil  remained  motionless; 
then,  very  slowly,  it  executed  a  few  flourishes,  finishing  by 
writing  out,  in  a  cramped  and  not  very  legible  hand,  several 
words,  the  last  two  written  backward.^ 

*  Let  any  one  try  to  write  even  two  such  words  backwiffd,  and  he 


THE    STRANGE   Al^SWEE.  283 

Madame  de  F begged  to  look  at  the  paper  and  gazed  at 

il  for  some  time,  turning  very  pale. 

*^  What  is  it  ?  "  some  one  asked  eagerly. 

**  Magic,  if  there  be  such  a  thing,"  she  replied.     *'  It  reads : 
*  The  one  that  gives  you  a  maid  and  cook.'' " 

**  How  ridiculous  !  "  exclaimed  Mademoiselle  K :  "  it  is 

no  answer  whatever  to  your  question." 

*^  You   tbiak   not,    Mademoiselle  ? "   rejoined    Madame   de 

F ;  "let  me  tell  you  the  facts.     These  pins  were  given  to 

me  by  my  cousin  Elizabeth,  who  lives  in  Florence.  At  my  re- 
quest she  sent  me,  from  that  city,  a  lady's  maid,  who  came  into 
my  service  ten  days  siace,  and  a  cook  who  aiTived  day  before 
yesterday." 

The  paper  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  calling  forth  re- 
peated expressions  of  astonishment,  which  were  increased  when 
some  one  suggested  that  the  concluding  portion  of  the  flourishes      N 
which  preceded  the  writing  closely  resembled  a  capital  E  ;  the         i 
initial  letter  of  the  donor's  name.*  ^^^ 

In  myself  this  incident,  trifling  if  it  seem,  excited  far  more 
than  astonishment.  During  several  hours  of  silent  reflection, 
that  evening  at  home,  there  came  over  me  the  indescribable 
emotion  that  is  felt  when  one  first  awakes  to  the  possibility 
that  there  may  be  experimental  proof  of  another  life.  Ere  I 
slept  I  had  registered  in  my  heart  a  vow — since  kept — not  to 
rest  till  I  had  proved  this  possibility  to  be  a  probability  or  a  ^ 
certainty — or  a  delusion.  -... 

Accordingly  next  day  I  called  on  Madame  de  F ,  who  had 

carried  off  the  sheet  of  paper  containing  a  reply  which  had  at     \^ 
first  seemed  so  enigmatical,  but  which  proved  to  be  so  singu-     ^i 


larly  appropriate  ;  and,  on  stating  to  her  that  I  desired  to  pre 


win  discover  the  great  difficulty  of  doiag  so.     It  should  be  added  thai 

Mrs.  M was  not  only  without  experience  in  SpiritnaHsm,  but  prej 

udiced  against  it. 
*  See  next  page. 


\JJ 


NEITHER    C01J.USI0N   NOR   DECEPTION. 


"=^ 


serve  it  for  record,  slie  kindly  ceded  it  to  me.*  In  reply  to  an 
inquiry  on  my  part,  she  stated,  in  emphatic  terms,  her  convic- 
tion that  the  circumstances  alluded  to  in 
the  mysterious  writing  wei'e  not — indeed^ 
could  not  be — known  except  to  her  own 
family.  It  was  but  a  few  weeks,  she  re- 
minded me,  since  she  herself  arrived  in 
Kaples.  Her  cousin  was  unknown  here, 
even  by  name;  she  herself  had  never 
mentioned  her  to  any  one  in  the  city; 
much  less  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the 
gold  pins  were  her  gift.  But,  in  addi- 
tion, she  had  never  spoken  to  any  one 
outside  her  family  circle,  about  the  ser- 
vants who  had  recently  arrived ;  oi 
whence  they  came,  or  who  sent  them. 
And  finally  she  stated  that  she  had  but 
just   made   the    acquaintance    of    Mrs. 

M ,   having   only   exchanged    cards 

with  her.  ^ 

Intimately  acquainted  as  I  am  with 
the  circumstances  of  this  case,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  character  and  standing  of 
the  parties  concerned,  I  am  justified  in 
asserting  unqualifiedly  that,  whatever 
else  the  solution,  collusion  and  decep- 
tion are  out  of  the  question. 

But,  the  facts  accepted,  how  strange 
were  the  deductions !  Bestricting  my- 
self to  commonly-received  data,  I  found 
nothing  that  approached  a  satisfactory 
solution. 

It  was  thus  I  reasoned  the  matter 
with  myself.     Had  the  reply  to  Madame 

de   F 's   question   been  merely  the 

*  See  fac-simile. 


cx 


3€; 


<5 


-Vr 


WHAT   THINKING   ENTITY   WAS   IT?  285 

name  of  her  cousin,  the  donor  of  the  pins  (Elizabeth),  it  would 
hav^e  been  equally  relevant  but  much  less  surprising.    We  should 

probably  have  ascribed  it  to  chance.    Or,  as  Madame  de  F 

was  doubtless,  at  that  time,  thinking  of  her  cousin's  name,  we 
uiight  have  regarded  it  only  as  an  example  of  a  word  thought 
of  by  one  person,  and  unconsciously  reflected  (if  that  be  the 
proper  expression)  from  the  mind  of  another ;  a  phenomenon 
with  which  all  vital  magnetizers  are  familiar  (even  if  they  can- 
not explain  it),  and  one  of  the  reality  of  which  Cuvier  himself 
indicates  the  possibility.* 

But  the  results  I  had  obtained  went  much  farther  than  this 
and  were  of  a  far  more  complicated  character.  — ~ 

I  inqui^-ed  of  Madame  de  F whether,  at  the  time  she  put 

her  question  and  was  expecting  a  reply,  she  was  thinking  of 
the  fact  that  her  cousin  had  sent  her  two  servants.  She  replied, 
that,  veiy  certainly,  such  a  thought  had  not  crossed  her  mind. 
Of  course,  if  she  had  been  asked  who  sent  her  the  servants  in 
question,  she  would  readily  have  replied  that  her  cousin  had 
done  so.  But,  in  that  case,  the  question  would  have  called  up 
the  idea.  As  it  was,  the  fact,  though  within  her  knowledge,  was 
not  present  to  her  mind.  If  she  herself  had  been  required  to 
answer  her  own  question,  she  would  doubtless  have  replied  to  it 
in  a  straightforward,  simple  manner,  as :  "  My  cousin  Eliza- 
beth ;  "  or  using  some  similar  expression.  We  cannot  imagine, 
that  she  would  have  gone  out  of  her  way  to  tell  us  that  "  it 
was  the  same  person  who  had  sent  her  a  maid  and  a  cook." 

Then  what  thinking  entity  was  it,  which  thus  called  up,  out  of 

the  latent  stores  of  Madame  de  F 's  memory,  this  dormant 

idea  ?  What  occult  intelligence  went  out  of  its  way  to  answer 
her  question  after  this  roundabout  fashion  ?  Who  selected  the 
unexpected  form  of  reply  ? 


*  Anatomie  Gomparee,  tome  ii.  p.  117,  His  admission  is  that,  when 
two  living  beings  are  brought,  under  certain  conditions,  near  each  other, 
there  exists  sometimes  "une  commimication  quelconque  qui  s'etiablit 
antra  laurs  systdmes  narveux." 


28G  WAS   THERE   A   PERSONAL   ENTITY? 

Ax  first  I  scrupled  about  assuming  that  there  was  any  ex- 
ternal personality  concerned.  But  a  little  reflection  ccnvince'd 
me  that  if  I  dismissed  that  idea,  I  was  shifting,  net  solving,  the 
difficulty.  For  the  question  then  recurred  in  another  shape : 
What  agency  determined  the  special  character  of  an  answer  thus 
indirect  and  far-fetched,  yet  strictly  relevant  and  accurate  ? 

And  then  (I  went  on  to  reflect)  without  assuming  a  personal 
entity,  how  are  we  to  explain  results  that  are  never  presented 
to  us  except  as  the  mental  operations  of  a  sentient  being ;  such 
as  selection  of  appropriate  facts  from  among  many  stored  away 
in  the  memory,  perception  of  the  connection  of  these  facts 
with  a  question  which  did  not  apparently  refer  to  them,  perti- 
nent application  of  the  selected  facts  to  frame  a  truthful  reply ; 
nay,  even  an  apparent  intention,  by  giving  to  that  reply  an 
out-of-the-way  and  unlooked-for  turn,  to  prove  to  us  the  pres- 
ence of  a  reasoning  and  intelligent  agent  ? 

I  was  unable  to  answer  these  questions  then  ;  and,  except  on 
the  spiritual  hypothesis,  I  am  unable,  after  fifteen  years'  experi- 
ence, to  ofier  any  rational  explanation  to-day. 

Probably  most  of  those  who  assisted  at  the  experiment  I 
have  recorded  went  away  moved  to  simple  wonder  only ;  per- 
plexed for  the  time,  but  ere  a  month  had  passed,  forgetting, 
in  the  passing  excitement  of  some  fresh  novelty,  both  wonder 
and  perplexity ;  or  at  most,  perhaps,  relating  now  and  then,  to 
incredulous  listeners  of  a  winter  evening,  that  very  odd  coinci- 
dence about  three  gold  pins  and  a  maid  and  a  cook. 
I     To  me  its  lessons  are  still  as  fresh  as  on  the  day  I  received 
j  them.     They  preceded,   and   induced,  a  course  of  study  that 
^  eventually  changed  the  whole  feelings  and  tenor  of  my  life. 

Within  the  last  twenty-five  years  multitudes,  in  this  and  in 
all  other  civilized  countries,  have  been  overtaken,  as  unexpect- 
edly as  I  was,  with  evidence  of  the  reality  of  spiritual  phenom- 
ena. And,  to  hundreds  of  thousands  among  these,  conviction 
has  come   in  the  quiet  of  the  domestic  circle;  has  not  been 


gPnUTUAL   SENSITIVES.  tlSt 

avowed  to  the  world,  and  has  not  disturbed  theii-  relations  with 
the  churches  they  had  been  wont  to  frequent. 

In  illustration  I  here  supply,  out  of  many  examples  that 
have  come  to  my  knowledge,  one  which  is  the  more  noteworthy 
because  it  exhibits  various  phases  of  spiritual  intervention.  J 
erj title  it 

A  DOMESTIC  Invasion. 

In  the  year  1853  there  lived,  in  the  town  of  E, ,  Massachu- 

s(!tts,  a  family  of  the  utmost  respectability  and  in  easy  circum- 
stances, whose  name,  though  known  to  me,  I  am  not  at  liberty 
Here  to  give.     Let  us  call  them  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L . 

Mrs.  L appears  to  have  been  one  of  a  class  of  which  I 

have  already  spoken  as  resembling  Reichenbach's  "  sensitives," 
if  not  identical  with  them :  a  class  which  has  furnished  what 
are  called  "  mediums,"  and  what  might  appropriately  be  called 
"  spiritual  sensitives."  She  shared  many  of  the  peculiarities 
of  that  class ;  peculiarities  which,  in  her  case  as  in  many 
others,  seem  to  have  been  hereditary.* 

Her  grandmother,  one  morning,  preparing  to  go  out  walking 
and  turning  round  to  leave  her  bed-chamber,  suddenly  per- 
ceived, standing  before  her,  the  exact  counterpart  of  herself. 
At  first  she  imagined  it  to  be  an  impression  from  some  mirror ; 
but,  having  ascertained  that  it  was  not  so  and  seeing  the  appear- 
ance gi-adually  vanish,  she  became  very  much  alarmed  ;  the 
popular  idea  occurring  to  her  that  to  see  one's  double,  or  vrraith 
as  the  Scotch  term  it,  portended  death.  Slie  immediately  sent 
for  the  preacher  whose  church  she  frequented,  the  Rev.  ]Mi\ 
Katon,  and  consulted  him  on  the  subject.     He  inquired  whe- 

*  Out  of  161  sensitives  whose  names  are  registered  by  Reichenbach, 
as  among  his  odic  subjects,  143  are  from  families  marked  by  a  similar 
peculiarity.  Of  these  he  found  the  facility  to  have  been  inherited,  in  28 
cases  from  the  father,  in  50  from  the  mother,  in  11  from  both  parents : 
and  in  54  other  cases  it  was  shared  by  a  brother  or  sister. — Der  SeiaiUvi 
Mensch,  vol.  ii.  §  2682  to  §  2666  (Stuttgart,  1854). 


/ 


288  AN   OCCUKEtENCE   TO   BE 

ther  it  was  before  or  after  mid-day  that  she  had  seen  the  appari* 
tion ;  and,  learning  that  it  was  early  in  the  forenoon,  he  assured 
}ier  (whether  from  sincere  conviction  or  merely  to  allay  the  ex 
treme  excitement  in  which  he  found  her)  that  the  augury  was 
of  long  life,  not  of  approaching  dissolution.  As  it  chanced,  she 
lived  after  that  to  a  good,  old  age. 

Mrs.    L 's   mother,    Mrs.  F ,    was   accompanied  by 

knockings  and  other  sounds  in  a  house  in  Pearl  street,  Boston,  at 
intervals  as  long  as  she  resided  there ;  namely,  through  a  period 
of  twelve  years.  Sometimes  these  sounds  were  audible  to  her- 
self only ;  sometimes  also  to  the  other  inmates  of  the  house. 
Finally,  they  annoyed  her  husband  so  much,  that  he  changed 
their  residence. 

Mrs.  L herself,  when  about  ten  years  of  age  (in  the  year 

1830),  had  been  witness  to  one  of  those  phenomena  that  are 
never  forgotten  and  produce  a  great  influence  on  the  opinions 
and  feelings  of  a  lifetime. 

There  was,  at  that  time,  residing  in  her  mother's  house,  in 
the  last  stage  of  hopeless  decline,  a  lady,  named  Mrs.  Marshall, 

to  whom  Mrs.  F ,  from  benevolent  motives,  had  offered  a 

J}emporary  home. 

Cecilia — that  is  Mrs.  L 's  name — had  been  sitting  up  one 

evening  a  little  later  than  usual,  and,  childlike,  had  lain  down 
on  the  parlor  sofa  and  dropped  to  sleep. 

Awaking,  after  a  time,  she  supposed  it  must  be  late;  for 
tlie  fire  had  burned  low  and  the  room  was  vacant.  As  she 
attempted  to  rise,  she  suddenly  became  aware  that  the  figure 
of  Mrs.  Marshall,  robed  in  white,  was  bending  over  her. 
*' Oh,  Mrs.  Marshall,"  she  exclaimed,  "why  did  you  come 
down  for  me  ?     You  will  be  sure  to  take  cold."     The  figure 

o 

smiled,  made  no  reply,  but,  moving  toward  the  door,  signed  to 
Cecilia  to  follow.  She  did  so  in  considerable  trepidation, 
which  was  increased  when  she  perceived  what  she  still  believed 
to  be  the  lady  herself  pass  up  the  stairs  backward,  with  a 
slow,  gliding  motion,  to  the  door  of  her  bedroom.  The  child 
followed;  and,  as  she  reached  the  landing  of  the  stairs,  she 


REMEMBERED   FOB   LIFE.  289 

saw  the  figure,  without  turning  the  lock  or  opening  the  door, 
pass,  as  it  were,  through  the  material  substance  into  the  room 
and  thus  disappear  from  her  sight. 

Her  screams  brought  her  mother  who,  coming  out  of  Mrs. 
Marshall's  room,  asked  her  what  was  the  matter.  "  Oh,  mam- 
ma, mamma,"  exclaimed  the  terrified  child,  "  was  that  a 
ghost  ?  " 

The  mother  chid  her  at  first,  for  nursing  silly  fancies ;  but 
when  Cecilia  related  to  her  circumstantially  what  she  had  wit- 
nessed, !Mrs.  F shuddered.     Well  she  might !     Not  half  an 

hour  before  she  had  assisted  at  the  death-bed  of  Mrs.  Mar- 
shaU! 

It  was  remembered,  too,  that  a  few  minutes  before  she  ex- 
pired, that  lady,  with  whom  Cecilia  was  a  great  favorite,  had 
spoken  in  afiectionate  terms  of  the  child  and  had  expressed  an 

earnest  desire  to  see  her.     But  Mrs.  F ,  fearing  the  efiect 

of  such  a  scene  on  one  so  young,  had  refrained  from  calUng  her 
daughter. 

Did  the  earnest  longing  mature  into  action  when  the  earth- 
clog  was  cast  off  ?  Was  the  dying  wish  gratified,  notwithstand- 
ing the  mother's  precautions  ? 

Later  in  her  youth  Cecilia,  to  her  mother's  great  alarm,  bad 
irom  time  to  time  walked  in  her  sleep.  This  somnambulism 
was  strictly  spontaneous,  no  mesmeric  experiments  of  any  kind 
having  ever  been  allowed  in  the  family.  It  did  not  result  iu 
any  accident ;  but,  on  several  occasions,  while  unconscious  and 
with  her  eyes  closed,  she  had  aided  her  mother,  as  expertly 
if  awake,  in  the  household  duties. 

She  had  another  peculiarity.  In  the  early  part  of  the  night 
her  sleep  was  usually  profound ;  but  occasionally,  toward  morn- 
ing, in  a  state  between  sleeping  and  waking,  she  had  visions  of 
the  night  which,  though  they  were  undoubtedly  but  a  phase 
of  dreaming,  she  discovered,  by  repeated  experience,  to  be  often 
of  a  clairvoyant  or  prophetic  character;  sometimes  informing 
her  of  death  or  illness.  These  intimations  of  the  distant  or  the 
future  so  frequently  correspond .-d  to  the  truth  that,  when  thev 
13 


290  THE  MroNIGHT   EXCURSION. 

prognosticated  misfortune,  Mrs.  L hesitated,  on  awaking, 

to  communicate  them. 

Such  a  dream,  or  vision,  she  had  one  night  in  the  early  part 
of  the  month  of  November,  1853.  A  sister,  Esther,  recently 
married,  had  gone  out,  with  her  husband,  to  California,  some 
weeks  before ;  and  they  had  been  expecting,  ere  long,  news  of 
her  arrival.  This  sister  seemed  to  approach  the  bedside,  and 
said  to  her :  "  Cecilia,  come  with  me   to  California."     Mrs. 

L ,  in  her  dream,  objected  that  she  could  not  leave  her 

husband  and  children,  to  undertake  a  journey  so  long  and 
tedious. 

"  We  shall  soon  be  there,"  said  Esther,  "  and  you  shall  re- 
turn before  morning." 

In  her  dream  the  proposed  excursion  did  not  seem  to  her  an 
impossibility :  so  she  rose  from  bed,  and,  giving  her  hand 
to  her  sister,  she  thought  they  ascended  together  and  floated 
over  a  vast  space  ;  then  descended  near  a  dwelling  of  humble 
and  rude  appearance,  very  different  from  any  which  she  could 
have  imagined  her  sister  to  occupy  in  the  new  country  to 
which,  in  search  of  fortune,  she  and  her  husband  had  emigrated. 
The  sisters  entered,  and  Cecilia  recognized  her  brother-in-law, 
sad  and  in  mourning  garb.  Esther  then  led  her  into  a  room 
in  the  centre  of  which  stood  an  open  coffin,  and  pointed  to  the 
body  it  contained.     It  was  Esther's  own  body,  pale  with  the 

hue  of  death.     Mrs.  L gazed  in  mute  astonishment,  first 

at  the  corpse  before  her,  then  at  the  form,  apparently  bright 
with  life  and  intelligence,  which  had  conducted  her  thither. 
To  her  look  of  inquiry  and  wonder  the  living  appearance  re- 
plied, "  Yes,  sister,  that  body  was  mine ;  but  disease  assailed 
it.  I  was  taken  with  cholera  and  I  have  passed  to  another 
world.  I  desired  to  show  you  this,  that  you  might  be  prepared 
for  the  news  that  will  soon  reach  you." 

After  a  time  Mrs.  L seemed  to  herself  to  rise  again 

into  the  air,  again  to  traverse  a  great  space,  and  finally  to  re- 
enter her  bed-chamber.     By  and  by  she  avjoke,  with  this  dream 


THE  TRAITCE.  291 

SO  vividly  stamped  on  her  mind,  that  it  required  some  t/ime  tc 
satisfy  her  that  she  had  not  made  an  actual  journey. 

*'  I  have  had  such  a  dream !  "  she  exclaimed  to  her  husband. 
But  his  discouraging  "  What,  Cecilia,  at  your  foolish  dreama 
again  ?  "  closed  her  lips,  and  she  passed  the  matter  off  without 
further  explanation,  either  to  him  or  to  any  other  member  of 
the  family. 

It  so  happened  that,  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  Mrs.  L 

s:it  down  to  a  quiet  family  game  of  whist.  Her  husband  and  Ji 
yoimger  sister,  Anne,  were  of  the  party.     In  the  course  of  the 

game  Mrs.  L handed  the  cards  to  her  sister,  whose  turn  it 

was  to  deal.  Suddenly  she  saw  Anne's  arm  assume  a  rapid  ro- 
tary motion,  and  the  cards  flew  in  all  directions.  Turning  to 
chide  her  for  what  she  thought  a  foolish  jest,  she  observed  a 
peculiar  expression  spread  over  her  face  :  the  look  was  grave, 
earnest,  thoughtful ;  and  the  eyes  were  fixed,  as  with  affection- 
ate anxiety,  on  Cecilia's  face. 

Yery  much  alarmed,  the  latter  cried  out,  "  Oh,  Anne,  what    I 
is  the  matter  ?  why  do  you  look  so  ?  "  j 

"  Call  me  not  Anne,"  was  the  reply ;  "  I  am  Esther." 

"Anne!" 

*'  I  teU  you  it  is  Esther  who  speaks  to  you,  not  Anne." 

Mrs.  L ,  excessively  terrified,  turned  to  her  husband,  cry- 
ing out,  "  Her  mind  is  gone  !  she  is  mad  !  Oh  that  such  a 
misfortune  should  ever  have  fallen  on  our  family !  " 

"  Your  dream,  Cecilia !  Your  dream  of  last  night !  Have 
you  forgotten  whi  *her  I  took  you  and  what  you  saw  ?  "  said 
Anne,  solemnly. 

The  shock  was  too  much  for  Mrs.  L .     She  fainted. 

When,  by  the  use  of  the  usual  restoratives,  she  had  recovered, 
she  found  her  sister  still  in  the  same  trance-like  state,  and  still 
impersonating  Esther.  This  continued  for  nearly  four  hours 
At  the  end  of  that  time  Anne  suddenly  rubbed  her  eyes, 
stretched  her  limbs,  as  if  awaking,  and  asked  in  her  natural 
voice,  "  Have  I  been  asleep  ?  What  is  the  matter?  What  hag 
happened  ?  " 


292  A  LADT   SPEAKING   UNDER   THE 

Some  four  weeks  afterward  the  California  mail  brought  a 
letter  from  Esther's  husband,  informing  the  family  of  his  wife's 
sudden  death,  by  cholera,  on  the  very  day  preceding  the  night 
of  Mrs.  L 's  dream. 

When,  about  six  months  later,  the  brother-in-law,  having  re- 
turned to  Massachusetts,  heard  from  Mrs.  L- the  descrip- 
tion of  the  rude  dwelling  to  which,  in  her  dream,  she  had 
seemed  to  be  conveyed,  he  admitted  that  it  corresponded,  accu- 
rately and  minutely,  to  that  of  the  house  in  which  his  wife  ac- 
tually died. 

The  above  incidents  were  related  to  me  by  Mrs.  L her- 
self,* with  permission  to  pubKsh  them,  suppressing  only  the 
family  name. 

That  lady  also  stated  to  me  that,  at  the  time  referred  to,  the 
modern  spiritual  manifestations  were  unknown  in  the  town  ol 

R ,  except  by  some  vague  rumors  of  knockings  said  to  have 

been  heard  in  Rochester,  and  which  Mrs.  L 's  family  had 

always  treated  as  a  matter  too  absurd  to  be  seriously  noticed. 
It  need  hardly  be  added  that  they  had  never  sought  or  wit- 
nessed rapping  or  table-moving  or  trance-speaking  or  automatic 
writing,  or  any  similar  phenomena,  now  so  common  in  this  and 
'  other  countries. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  mingled  feelings  of  grief  and  aston- 
ishment that  they  observed,  in  Anne,  a  repetition  on  several 
subsequent  occasions  of  the  same  manifestation  which  had 
startled  them  during  the  rubber  at  whist. 


/     *  At  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  New  York,  on  October  15,  1860.     The 

/  narrative,  written  out,  was  submitted  by  me  to  Airs,  L on  the  t7th 

/of  October ;  and  she  assented  to  its  accuracy. 

'         Had  I  not  been  the  author  of  a  work  which  had  attracted  the  atten- 
tion, and  awakened  the  sympathies,  of  Mrs.  L ,  I  should  never  have 

learned  these  particulars ;  for,  during  three  years  preceding  1860,  that 
lady  and  her  family  had  ceased  to  speak,  outside  of  the  domestic  circle, 
on  the  subject  of  their  spiritual  visitations.  The  feeling  which 
prompted  this  reticence  sufficiently  explains  why  the  family  name  ia 
withheld 


INFLUENCE   OF   A   DECEASED   DIVINE.  293 

The  next  time  that  her  sister's  fixed  gaze  and  changed  man* 
ner  indicated  the  recurrence  of  this  abnormal  condition,  MrSi 
L asked,  "  Is  this  Esther  again  ?  " 

"  Not  so,  my  daughter,"  was  the  reply.  "  It  is  not  your  sis- 
ter but  another  friend  who  desii*es  to  address  you." 

"Wha+ friend?" 

"John  Murray." 

This  was  the  name  of  an  aged  preacher  under  whom  Mrs. 

L 's  mother  had  sat  in  the  early  part  of  her  life,  and  who  had 

died  many  years  before,  never  personally  known  to  Mrs.  L . 

After  this,  the  impersonation,  by  Anne,  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Murray  was  of  frequent  occurrence.  On  such  occasions  she 
usually  addressed  those  present  in  the  grave  and  measured  tones 
that  are  wont  to  characterize  a  pulpit  discourse.  The  subjects 
were  always  religious,  and  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  treated 
was  elevated  and  often  eloquent  far  beyond  the  natural  powers 
of  the  speaker. 

Nor  was  this  all.     Mrs.  L herself,  at  first  very  much  to 

her  dissatisfaction,  became  influenced  to  write  by  impressional 
dictation.  Long  she  resisted,  additionally  lu-ged  to  opposition 
by  the  great  repugnance  of  her  husband  and  of  her  friends,  who 
regarded,  almost  with  horror,  this  sudden  invasion  of  the 
household  circle.  "  It  must  be  some  of  these  terrible  spiritual 
extravagances  that  are  going  about,"  they  iised  to  say,  in  a 
tone  very  similar  to  that  in  which  nervous  people  depk)re  the 
approach  of  a  deadly  epidemic. 

After  a  time,  however,  when  it  was  observed  that  these  com- 
munications were  pure  and  reverent  in  character,  inculcating 
the  highest  principles  of  religion  and  morality,  and  that  no 

further  abnormalities  succeeded,  Mr.  L and  many  of  their 

friends  became  reconciled  to  the  intrusion ;  and  finally  listened, 
with  interest  and  pleasure,  to  the  lessons,  oral  and  written, 
which  were  thus  mysteriously  conveyed  to  them. 

In  the  above  remarkable  nairative  I  invite  attention  to  tha 
eviidnce,  therein   incidentally  presenting  itself,   of  identiti/% 


294  PEOOF  OF  rDENTITT. 

We  may  believe  confidently  in  the  spiritual  origin  of  a  raes 
sage  or  of  a  lesson,  and  yet  may  be  justified — we  are  sometimea 
fully  justified — in  doubting  the  identity  of  tlie  spirit  purporting 
to  communicate.* 

But  what  are  we  to  make  of  Anne's  exclamation :   "  Your 
dream,  Cecilia !    Your  dream  of  last  night !     Have  you  forgot- 
ten whither  I  took  you  and  what  you  saw  ?  " 
/       Not  a  single  particular  of  that  dream  had  been  related  by 

/    Mrs.  L to  Anne  or  to  any  one  else.    No  wonder  she  fainted ! 

No  wonder  she  felt  certain — as  she  told  me  she  did — that  it  waa 
Esther  herself,  and  no  other,  who  inspired  the  words.  To  what 
other  credible  source  can  we  refer  them?  The  hypothesis  of 
chance  coincidence  is  utterly  untenable.  As  little  can  we  sup- 
pose reflection  by  thought-reading :  to  say  nothing  of  the  in- 
credibility of  a  simulated  four-hour  trance. 

Of  apparitions  to  relatives  and  dear  friends  at  or  near  the 
time  of  death  I  haVe  elsewhere  f  furnished  authentic  examples. 
This  is  more  common  than  any  other  class  of  apparition.  Nu 
merous  examples  occur  in  German  works,  and  the  Gennans 
have  a  special  term  (anzeigen)  to  designate  such  an  appear 
ance.  J 

But  besides  being  commonly  unexpected  and  often  unwel- 
come, these  phenomena  have  sometimes  resulted  in  annoyance 
and  loss  to  the  parties  who  witnessed  them;  though  usually 


*  Especially  where  celebrated  names  are  given ;  and  this  may  happen 
without  intention  to  deceive.  The  name  of  Socrates  or  Aristotle  or 
Confucius  might  be  assumed  by  some  spirit  favoring  the  school  of 
philosophy  of  the  sage  whose  name  he  gives. 

For  myself,  I  have  never  received  a  communication  purportiiig  to 
come  from  any  celebrity  whom,  in  life,  I  had  not  known :  and  but  rarely 
from  any  one  except  those  with  whom  I  had  been  connected  by  ties  oi 
consanguinity,  or  of  affection. 

f  In  FootfaUs  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World^  at  pp.  371-376, 
and  throughout  chapter  3,  Book  ii. 

t  "  Ei  hat  sich  angezeigt"  is  the  phrase  usually  employed. 


295 


without  apparent  intention  to  injure,  on  the  part  of  the  unseen 
agents. 

An  example  is  given  in  a  London  periodical,*  attested  by 
date,  place,  and  name.  It  comes  through  an  English  clergy- 
man. The  Rev.  S.  E.  Benbough,  of  Hadleigh,  Rochford,  Essex, 
writing  in  June,  1860,  incloses  a  letter  from  a  lady  with  whom 
he  says  he  is  "  well  acquainted  and  cannot  doubt  for  a  moment 
her  trustworthiness."  He  goes  on  to  say:  "All  well-authen- 
ticated facts  connected,  or  apparently  connected,  with  the 
supernatural  are  valuable  as  materials  from  which,  in  course 
of  time,  general  laws  may  be  deduced  ;  "  and  adds  an  expres- 
sion of  regret  that  so  many  persons,  in  narrating  such  facts, 
withhold  the  guarantee  of  genuineness  contained  in  a  signature. 
The  letter,  which  he  incloses  and  which  I  have  slightly  abridged, 
tells  the  story.     Let  us  call  it 

"Why  a  Villa  was  sold  at  a  Loss. 

"  Deab  Sib  :  A  few  evenings  since  you  expressed  a  wish  to 
obtain,  in  writing,  the  circumstances  which  caused  me  to  leave 
my  former  abode.     Here  are  the  facts. 

"  Li  January,  1860,  I  purchased  a  semi-detached  villa,  near 
Chiswick.  The  previous  occupant  was  a  lady  who,  sixteen 
years  t-efore,  had  built  that  and  the  adjoining  villa.  The  lat- 
ter had  been  sold  to  an  elderly  gentleman  and  his  wife,  who 
proved  most  respectable  and  quiet  neighbors.  My  own  fam- 
ily, as  you  know,  consists  of  myself,  my  daughter,  and  a  female 
servant. 

"  The  front  bedroom,  eighteen  feet  by  twenty -five,  I  selected 
for  my  own  use.  The  very  first  night  of  my  occupancy — there 
being  a  bright  fire  and  a  night-light  burning — I  heard  a  singu- 
lar noise,  commencing  before  midnight  and  continuing  for 
some  time ;  but  I  paid  Kttle  attention  to  it.  The  same  sound 
continued,  with  few  interruptions,  for  many  weeks,  and  grew 

*  Spiinttial  Magazine  of  July,  1860. 


296  A  MTONIGHT  VISITOR. 

to  a  serious  distiurbance ;  regularly  waking  me  from  my  fir^ 
sleep  at  from  half-past  eleven  to  twelve  o'clock,  or  occasionallji 
at  about  twenty  minutes  past  eleven.  The  sounds  seemed  to 
proceed  from  naked  or  thinly-slippered  feet,  walking  to  and 
fro,  the  length  of  the  room,  with  heavy  tread  :  so  heavy  that 
it  caused  a  vibration  of  the  crockeiy  on  the  marble  washstand, 
and  of  light  articles  on  the  toilet-glass. 

"  My  first  impression  was  that  my  next-door  neighbors  had 
restless  nights ;  but,  on  making  their  acquaintance,  I  found 
that  this  was  not  the  case.  Next  I  sought  to  account  for  the 
strange  sound  in  connection  with  a  timepiece  in  my  bed-cham- 
ber ;  and  this  I  had  moved  from  place  to  place,  but  unavail- 
ingly.  The  sound  continued,  and  the  ticking  of  the  timepiece 
could  be  heard  quite  distinct  from  it. 

*'  Another  experiment  was  equally  without  result.  I  fre- 
quently placed  myself  so,  as  it  were,  that  I  might  arrest  the 
footsteps,  but  this  caused  no  cessation  or  alteration  of  the 
sound. 

"  Sometimes  I  used  to  open  the  window  and  sit  by  it  in  the 
spring  mornings.  This  made  no  difference :  the  sounds  went 
on,  all  the  same,  until  four  or  five  o'clock. 

"  I  discovered  that  to  others  the  sounds  conveyed  the  same 
impression  as  to  myself.  Three  or  four  times  I  awoke  my 
daughter ;  and  to  her  as  to  me,  they  seemed  to  proceed  from  a 
heavy  footfall.  Again,  on  one  occasion  when  a  friend,  who  was 
visiting  me,  had  been  put  in  the  room  which  my  servant  usu- 
ally occupied,  the  girl  slept  on  a  sofa  in  my  bedroom.  Up  to 
that  time  I  had  not  mentioned  it  to  her.  Twice,  when  awoke 
in  the  night,  she  cried  out,  terrified :  *  Oh,  Ma'am,  what  is 
it  ?  what  is  it  ? '  and  hid  her  head  under  the  bed-clothes. 

"  At  last  this  disturbance  became  not  only  annoying  but  so 
terrible  to  me  that  I  resolved  to  leave  the  house.  At  a  great 
loss  I  obtained  a  purchaser. 

"  When  this  was  settled  I  heard,  for  the  first  time,  from  an 
old  nurse  who  came  to  inquire  after  the  former  inhabitanta 
of  the  house,  that  the  lady  who  built  it  and  who  had  died  therej 


HOUSE  HAUNTING.  291 

and  from  whose  brother  I  bought  it,  suffered  from  painful  and 
incurable  disease,  and  that  it  was  her  sad  fate,  after  a  short 
sleep,  to  walk  the  room  till  four  or  five  in  the  morning ;  theii 
to  sink  on  her  bed,  exhausted. 

"  On  inquiry,  an  opposite  neighbor  confirmed  this  statement 
They  had  often  seen  the  old  lady  walking  to  and  fro,  whea 
sickness  in  their  family  caused  them  to  be  about  in  the  early 
morning. 

"  This  may  be  no  solution  of  the  singular  affair.  But  I  re- 
late it  in  connection  with  the  other  events. 

*'  I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  respectfully, 

"  Mary  Pbopert. 
«  To  the  E&v.  S.  E,  Benhoughr 

This  will  be  recognized  as  one  of  a  class  of  phenomena,  often 
discredited,  known  as  "  house-hauntings."  The  remarkable 
point  in  the  case  is  its  business  aspect.  The  lady  from  whom 
the  story  comes,  and  who  seems  to  have  been  a  dispassionate 
observer,  found  the  disturbance  so  seriously  real  and  so  persis- 
tent that,  at  a  great  loss,  she  sold  her  house  to  escape  it.  \ 
think  it  possible  she  might  have  been  saved  from  this  loss  had 
she  been  willing — but  no  doubt  the  proposal  would  have 
shocked  her — to  enter  into  communication  with  her  nocturnal 
visitant.  In  support  of  this  opinion  I  here  adduce  an  anec- 
dote of 

A   REPENTANT   HOUSEKEEPER. 

There  is  a  young  lady.  Miss  Y -,  well  and  favorably  known 

to  me,  frank  and  cultivated,  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  New 
York  families.  A  few  years  since  she  was  spending  a  week  or 
two  with  her  aunt,  mistress  of  a  spacious,  handsome,  and  hos- 
pitable old  mansion  on  the  Hudson  River.  This  mansion,  like 
some  of  the  ancient  chateaux  of  Europe,  has  long  had  its 
haunted  chamber.  Little  was  said  about  this,  but  the  room 
was  not   used  except   on    pressing   occasions.     During   IVIisa 

V ^'s  residsnce  there,  visitors  accumulated  to  overflowing  ^ 

13* 


298  A   REPENTANT   DOMESTIC 

and  the  aunt,  with  an  apology  to  her  niece,  asked  her  if  she 
minded  giving  up  her  room  for  a  day  or  two  to  the  new-comor3 

and  running  the  risk  of  a  visit  from  a  ghost.     Miss  V" • 

replied  that  she  was  not  afraid  of  visitors  from  another  world  . 
so  the  arrangement  was  made. 

The  young  lady  went  to  sleep  quietly  and  without  fear. 
Awaking  about  midnight,  she  saw,  moving  about  her  room,  an 
elderly  woman  in  neat,  somewhat  old-fashioned  dress,  appar- 
ently an  upper-servant :  but  the  face  was  unknown  to  her.  At 
first  she  was  not  afraid,  supposing  it  to  be  some  one  employed 
in  the  house  who  had  come  on  some  errand  or  other :  but  a  mo- 
ment's thought  reminded  her  that  she  had  locked  the  door  be- 
fore retiring.  This  startled  her,  and  her  alarm  increased  when 
the  figure  approached  the  bed,  bent  toward  her  and  seemed  to 
make  an  earnest  but  unavailing  effort  to  speak.  Greatly  fright- 
ened she  drew  the  bed-clothes  over  her  face ;  and  when,  after  a 
little,  she  looked  up  again,  the  figure  had  vanished.  She  sprang 
to  the  door  of  her  room  and  found  it  still  locked  on  the  inside. 
"  Can  there  be  such  things  as  ghosts  ?  "  she  thought,  as  she  re- 
turned to  bed ;  "  that  was  a  reality,  if  sight  could  be  trusted." 
In  that  conviction,  after  a  restless  hour  or  two,  she  fell  asleep ; 
but  next  morning  in  the  bright  light  of  day,  it  did  not  seem  to 
her  quite  so  certain ;  and  after  a  few  months  it  faded — as  with 
young  people  such  things  will — to  a  dim  belief. 

Then,  however,  a  circumstance  occurred  which  renewed  a 
faith,  not  again  to  be  shaken,  in  the  reality  of  her  midnight  vis- 
itor. Accepting  the  invitation  of  an  intimate  and  highly  val- 
ued friend  to  spend  some  days  with  her,  she  found  that  her 
hostess,  in  a  quiet  way,  had  been  making  experiments  in  Spiri- 
tualism and  had  obtained  sundry  communications.    Miss  V , 

curious  on  a  subject  of  which  she  had  heard  much  and  seen  very 
little,  joined  her  friend  during  several  sittings. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  an  (alleged)  spirit  announced  itself 
as  Sarah  Clarke,*  a  name  unknown  to  both  ladies.     The  com- 

*  This  is  not  the  real  name.     I  obtained  this  narrative  from  Miss 

V herself,  in  the  wiuter  of  1869-70 ;  at  first  with  permission  to  ^v« 

names  and  exact  dates.     But  afterward,  on  conferring  with  her  aunt, 


APPEARS    TO    A   YOUNG   LADY.  299 

munication  was  to  the  effect  that  she  had  been,  many  years  be- 
fore, housekeeper  in  the  family  of  Miss   Y 's  aunt ;   thai 

she  haa  endeavored,  unsuccessfully,  to  communicate  directly 

with  Miss  V when  that  young  lady  last  visited  the  old 

mansion ;  that  her  object  was  to  confess  a  criminal  act  of  which 
she  had  been  guilty  and  to  ask  her  old  mistress's  pardon  for  it. 
A  restless  desire  to  do  so  (she  added)  had  caused  her  to  haunt 
the  room  she  occupied  when  on  earth.  She  then  proceeded  to 
say  that  she  had  been  tempted  to  steal  and  hide  away  several 
small  pieces  of  family  plate,  including  a  silver  sugar-bowl  and  a 
few  other  articles  which  she  enumerated  ;  and  that  she  would 

be  very  thankful  if  Miss  Y would  tell  her  aunt  this  and 

express  her  (Sarah's)  great  sorrow  for  what  she  had  done,  and 
her  hope  for  pardon. 

The  next  time  Miss  V visited  her  aunt,  she  asked  her  if 

she  had  ever  known  a  person  named  Sarah  Clarke. 

"  Certainly,"  she  replied,  "  she  was  housekeeper  in  our  fam- 
ily some  thirty  or  forty  years  since." 

"  What  sort  of  person  was  she?  " 

"  A  good,  careful,  tidy  woman." 

"  Did  you  lose  any  silver  articles  while  she  was  with  you, 
aunt  ?  " 

The  lady  reflected.  "  Yes,  I  believe  we  did ;  a  sugar  basin 
and  a  few  other  things  disappeared  in  a  mysterious  way. 
Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"  Did  you  ever  suspect  Sarah  of  taking  them?  " 

"  No :  of  course  she  had  access  to  them ;  but  we  considered 
her  far  too  trustworthy  to  be  guilty  of  theft." 

Then  Miss  Y related  the  message  she  and  her  friend  had 

received ;  and,  on  comparing  notes,  it  was  found  that  the  list' 
of  articles,  as  given  by  Sarah  to  the  two  ladies,  corresponded 
with  the  things  actually  lost,  so  far  as  the  aunt  could  recol- 


she  found  tlie  old  lady  unwilling  to  incur  the  notoriety  consequent  on 

doing  so :  and  thus  Miss  V had  to  withditiw  the  perriaission  to  use 

any  names  in  connection  with  her  story. 


300         EEPENTANCE  THE  MODE  OF  EXIT 

lect.     Wliat  that  lady  thought  of  her  niece's  story  I  know  not 
all  she  said  was  that,  if  Sarah  had  taken  the  things,  ^e  mosi 
freely  forgave  it. 

The  remarkable  point  in  this  story  remains  to  be  told.  From 
that  time  forth,  the  haunted  chamber  was  free  from  all  disturb 
ance.  Sarah  Clarke  never  again  appeared  to  any  of  its  occu 
pants. 

Knowing  the  standing  of  the  parties  I  am  able  to  vouch  for 
the  truth  of  this  story.  Let  us  consider  what  it  discloses  as  to 
the  next  world. 

There  is  repentance  there  as  here.  There  is  restless  regret 
and  sorrow  for  grave  sin  committed  while  here.  There  is  anx- 
ious desire  for  pardon  from  those  whom  the  spirit  wronged 
during  earth-life.  In  other  words  the  natural  effects  of  evil  do- 
ing follow  us  to  our  next  phase  of  life ;  and,  in  that  phase  oi 
life  as  in  the  present,  we  amend,  and  attain  to  better  things,  by 
virtue  of  repentance. 

In  this  the  mode  of  moral  progression  after  death  is  similar 
to  that  which  alone  avails  on  earth.  "  Repent !  "  was  Christ's 
first  public  exhortation.  To  the  "  spirits  in  prison "  on  the 
other  side — spirits  not  yet  released  from  earthly  bondage  and 
earthly  remorse — the  same  exhortation,  it  would  seem,  is  ap- 
propriate still. 

Such  indications  as  these  induce  Spiritualists  to  believe  that 
the  next  world  is  more  nearly  like  this  than  Orthodoxy  ima- 
gines it  to  be. 

Another  corollary  is,  that  when  such  spiritual  phenomena 
present  themselves,  an  endeavor  to  establish  communication 
with  the  manifesting  spirit  may  result  in  benefit  alike  to  a  den- 
izen of  the  other  world  and  to  a  disturbed  inhabitant  of  this. 
In  this  way  Mrs.  Propert,  getting  rid  of  the  midnight  footfalls, 
might  have  been  in  quiet  possession  of  her  villa  at  this  day. 

I  invite  attention,  also,  to  the  strong  proof  of  identity  fur- 
nished by  Miss  V 's  story.     The  name  of  the  housekeeper 

.was  unknown  to  both  ladies  when  her  (alleged)  spirit  gave  the 


FOB  "SPmiTS  m  PRISON."  301 

message.  There  was  nothing  to  suggest  such  a  name,  or  such 
a  confession  as  was  made.  Yet,  on  inquiry,  both  name  and 
confession  were  found  to  correspond  with  facts  that  had  taken 
place  thirty  or  forty  years  before :  to  say  nothing  of  a  new  fact, 
tallying  with  all  the  rest :  the  cessation  of  the  spiritual  visits, 
as  soon  as  the  visitor  had  no  longer  any  motive  to  show  her- 
self. 

I  pass  now  to  another  class  of  manifestations,  in  which,  it 
will  be  remarked,  the  same  element  of  unexpectedness  is  found. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ANIMALS   PERCEIVma   SPIRITUAL  PHENOMENA. 

**  The  ass  saw  the  angel  of  the  Lord  standing  in  the  way. " — Numberi 
cdi23. 

Those  who  deem  incredible  certain  details  of  the  interruption 
which  befell  Balaam  during  his  unwilling  journey  to  meet  the 
King  of  Moab,  may  find,  in  modem  incidents,  cause  for  belief 
that  there  might  have  been  an  important  truth  underlying  the 
story. 

I  think  it  the  more  important  to  adduce  some  of  these  inci- 
dents because,  if  sufficiently  authenticated,  they  set  at  rest  the 
vague  theories  touching  "  expectant  attention  "  and  "  dominant 
ideas,"  that  have  been  propounded  to  explain  away,  as  figments 
of  the  brain,  all  perceptions  of  spiritual  appearances.  First  let 
us  examine  one  which  occurred  in  Holland. 

What  befell  a  Swiss  Officer. 

I  take  the  following  from  a  well-known  English  work  on 
Sleep,  by  Dr.  Binns.  The  author  gives  it  on  the  authority  of 
Lord  Stanhope,  who  had  it  directly  from  the  gentleman  to 
whom  the  incident  occurred,  Mr.  C.  de  Steiguer,  a  nephew  of 
the  celebrated  Avoyer  de  Steiguer,  of  Berne.  That  gentle- 
man, in  relating  it  to  Lord  Stanhope,  said  :  **  I  do  not  believe 
in  apparitions,  but  there  is  something  very  extraordinary  in 
the  subject;  and  I  would  not  relate  what  I  am.  about  to  men- 
tion if  many  persons,  some  of  whom  are  now  aUve,  could  not 
boar  witness  to  its  truth." 

Lord  Stanhope  then  proceeds  to  give  "  as  nearlj''  as  possible 


A2fnMALS    APFECTED.  305 

an  exact  translation  of  the  expressions  which  he  (Monsieur  da 
Steiguer)  used."     Here  it  is : 

"  I  was  earlj  in  life  in  the  Dutch  service,  and  had  occupied 
my  lodgings,  for  some  weeks,  without  hearing  anything  remark- 
able. My  bedroom  had,  on  one  side  of  it,  my  sitting  room ; 
on  the  other,  a  room  in  which  my  servant  slept ;  and  it  com- 
municated with  each  of  them  by  a  door. 

"  One  night,  being  in  bed  but  not  asleep,  I  heard  a  noise  as 
if  some  person  was  walking,  in  slippers,  up  and  down  the  room. 
The  noise  continued  for  some  time. 

"  Next  morning  I  asked  my  servant  if  he  had  heard  any- 
thing. 'Nothing,'  he  replied,  'except  that  you  walked  up 
and  down  the  room  last  night,  when  it  was  late.'  I  assured 
him  that  I  had  not  done  so ;  and,  as  he  appeared  incredulous, 
I  told  him  that,  if  I  should  again  hear  the  sounds  I  would  let 
him  know. 

"  On  the  following  night  I  called  him,  desiring  him  to  bring 
a  candle  and  to  take  notice  if  he  saw  anything.  He  informed 
me  that  he  did  not ;  but  that  he  heard  a  noise  as  if  some  per- 
son were  approaching  him,  and  then  moving  off  in  a  contrary 
direction. 

"  I  had  three  animals  in  my  room ;  a  dog,  a  cat,  and  a  can- 
ary-bii'd ;  each  of  which  was  affected  in  a  peculiar  manner, 
whenever  the  noise  was  heard.  The  dog  immediately  jumped 
into  my  bed  and  lay  close  to  me,  trembling  as  if  from  fear. 
The  cat  followed  the  noise  with  her  eyes,  as  if  she  saw,  or  at- 
tempted to  see,  what  caused  it.  The  canary  bird,  which  waa 
sleeping  on  its  perch,  instantly  awoke,  and  fluttered  about  the 
cage,  in  great  perturbation. 

*'  Occasionally  a  noise  was  heard  as  if  the  keys  of  the  piano 
in  my  sitting  room  were  slightly  touched,  and  as  if  the  key  of 
ray  desk  was  turned  and  the  desk  opened  ;  but  nothing  moved. 
1  mentioned  these  things  to  the  officers  of  my  regiment,  all  of 
whom  slept  by  turns  on  the  sofa  in  my  sitting  room,  and  heard 
ihe  same  sounds." 


304:  ARE  ANIMALS  DECEIVED  BY  FANCIES? 

M.  de  Steigiier  had  the  floor  and  skirting-board  taken  \ip^ 
but  could  find  not  even  a  trace  of  rats  or  mice. 

After  a  time  he  became  unwell ;  and,  his  illness  increasing, 
he  sent  for  a  physician  who  urgently  advised  him  to  change  hia 
lodgings,  though  he  would  give  no  reason  for  this  advice.  Fi- 
nally M.  de  Steiguer  had  himself  removed. 

He  stated  further  to  Lord  Stanhope  that  when  he  became 
convalescent  and  insisted  on  knowing  why  the  doctor  had  so 
strongly  urged  him  to  leave  his  rooms,  the  latter  informed 
him  "  that  they  had  a  bad  reputation  ;  that  one  man  had  hung 
himself  in  them,  and  that  it  was  supposed  another  had  been 
murdered."  * 

This  narrative  bears  the  stamp  of  authenticity.  "We  cannot 
believe  that  Lord  Stanhope  would  have  allowed  Dr.  Binns  to 
use  his  name  aiid  that  of  his  Swiss  friend,  in  attestation  of  such 
a  story,  without  a  deep  conviction  of  its  truth. 

The  witness  appears  to  have  been  a  cool-headed  and  dispas- 
sionate observer ;  but  let  us  suppose  him  nervous  and  imagin- 
ative. Did  his  servant  share  his  temperament?  Were  the 
senses  of  all  the  officers  whom  he  called  in,  as  additional  wit- 
nesses, misled  by  the  excitement  of  expectation  ?  Let  us  con- 
cede these  extreme  improbabilities.  Another  difficulty  re- 
mains. Was  the  dog,  was  the  cat,  was  the  canary-bird,  ner- 
vously expectant?  Were  their  senses  deceived  by  "dominant 
ideas"? 

As  regards  the  most  sagacious  of  domestic  animals,  what  has 
been  usually  called  popular  superstition  has  assigned  to  it  an 
occasional  power  beyond  mere  spiritual  perceptions — a  species 
of  presentiment  in  certain  cases  of  approaching  death.  I  do 
not  venture  to  affirm  that  dogs  ever  have  such  a  power ;  yet 
I  know  of  one  strongly-attested  case  which  goes  to  prove  that 
sometimes  they  have  an  instinct  which  greatly  resembles  it. 

*  Edward  Binns,  M.D.,  Anatomy  of  Sleep ;  second  editioD,  Lon 
don  1845 ;  pp.  479,  480. 


THE  DOG  UKDEB  THE  WINDOW.  305 


"What  preceded  a  Child's  unexpected  Death. 

For  thirty  years  past  I  have  been  well  acquainted  with  Mi's 

D ,  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  E, ,  long  and  favor 

Ably  known  in  Indiana.  Her  grandparents,  named  Haas, 
were  living  in  Woodstock,  Virginia,  when  her  mother,  after- 
ward Mrs.  R ,  was  twenty  years  old  and  still  unmarried. 

Miss  Haas  had  a  brother,  two  years  old,  and  the  child  had  a 
favorite  dog,  who  was  his  constant  companion  and  seemed  to 
take  special  care   of  him.     The  circumstances  connected  with 

this  child's  sudden  death,  Mrs.  D had  often  heard  repeated 

by  her  mother. 

It  was  about  mid-day  that  this  boy,  running  over  the  parlor 
floor,  tripped  his  foot  in  the  carpet  and  fell.  His  sister  picked 
him  up  and  soon  succeeded  in  soothing  him.  At  dinner,  how- 
ever, it  was  observed  that  he  gave  his  left  hand,  not  being  able 
to  stretch  out  his  right.  They  rubbed  the  right  arm  with  cam- 
phor and  the  child  made  no  complaint. 

While  they  were  at  dinner,  the  dog  approached  the  child's 
chair  and  began  whining  in  the  most  piteous  way.  They  put 
him  out,  then  he  howled.  They  drove  him  off,  but  he  returned 
and  took  his  post  under  the  window  of  the  room  in  which  the 
child  was,  contiauing  to  howl  from  time  to  time ;  and  there 
he  remained  during  the  night,  in  spite  of  all  attempts  to  dis- 
lodge him.  In  the  evening  the  child  was  taken  seriously  ill, 
and  died  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  So  long  as  it 
lived  the  dog's  dismal  lament  was  heard,  at  brief  intervals ; 
but  as  soon  as  the  child  died,  the  howling  ceased,  and  was  not 
renewed  either  then  or  afterward. 

I  have  entire  confidence  in  Mrs.  D 's  truthfulness,  and 

it  was  by  her  that  the  above  story  was  related  to  me.* 

This,  however,  is  the  only  example  of  the  kind  that  hasj 
come  .to  me  directly  authenticated ;  and  I  refrain  from  build- 

*  On  Jtme  27,  1859.     I  took  notes  of  it  at  the  time. 


306  A  BEMABKABLE   STOEY  VOUCHED 

ing  on  a  single  example.  Animals  may  not  have  the  gift  of 
presentiment ;  but  I  think  there  is  sufficient  proof  that  they 
have  spiritual  perceptions.  In  a  former  work  *  I  have,  inci 
dentally,  brought  up  some  evidence  of  this  ;  and  I  esteem  my 
self  fortunate  in  being  able  here  to  present,  from  an  accredited 
medical  source,  one  of  the  best-attested  and  most  circumstan- 
tially related  incidents  in  proof,  that  I  ever  remember  to  have 
seen.  It  is  the  more  valuable  because  medical  writers  as  a 
class — like  other  scientific  men — are  ever  reluctant  to  admi' 
anything  that  savors  of  the  supernatural. 

The  story  appeared,  three  years  before  the  advent  of  Spirit- 
ualism in  America,  in  one  of  the  best-known  Medical  Journala 
of  Scotland.  It  occurs  in  a  review  of  a  work  on  Sleep,  then 
just  published.  The  reviewer  touches  on  th  3  subject  of  appari- 
tions and,  after  noticing  several  cases  which  he  thinks  of  easy 
solution,  thus  proceeds  : 

"  The  following  case,  however,  is  one  of  those  very  rare  ones, 
whose  explanation  baffles  the  philosophic  inquirer.  It  is,  in- 
deed, almost  the  only  authentic  one  to  which  we  could  refer ; 
and,  as  it  occurred  to  a  particular  friend  and  every  circum- 
stance was  minutely  inquired  into  at  the  time,  the  narrative  is 
as  authentic  as  such  things  can  be.  It  may  add  to  the  interest 
of  this  case  to  state  that  it  was  communicated  several  years 
ago  to  Mr.  Hibbert,  after  the  publication  of  his  work  on  appari- 
tions, when  he  confessed  that  he  could  not  explain  it  in  the  same 
philosophic  way  in  which  he  had  been  able  to  account  for  all 
others,  and  that  it  appeared  to  him  more  nearly  to  approach  the 
supernatural." 

The  story,  thus  strongly  vouched  for,  is  then  given  by  the 
reviewer,  as  follows,  the  title  only  added  by  me  : 

The  Dog  in  the  Wolfridge  Wood. 

**  F.  M.  S was  passing  through  the  Wolfridge  wood  at 

Alverston,  one  night  at  twelve  o'clock.     He  was  accompanied 

*  FootfaUs,  pp.  217,  231,  398,  446,  448. 


FOB  BY  A   MEDICAL  JOIJBNAL.  SiOl 

by  his  dog,  of  a  breed  between  the  NewfouDdland  and  mastiff; 
a  powerful  animal,  who  feared  neither  man  nor  beast.  He 
had  a  fowling-piece  and  a  pair  of  pistols  loaded,  besides  his 
sword ;  for  he  belonged  to  the  Military  School  there  and  had 
bi^n  out  for  a  day's  shooting. 

*'  The  road  ran  centrally  through  the  wood  ;  and  very  nearly 
in  the  centre  of  the  wood,  at  a  part  somewhat  more  open  than 
the  rest,  there  was  a  cross  erected'  to  point  out  the  spot  where 
a  gamekeeper  had  been  murdered.  The  place  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  haunted,  and  the  ghost,  it  was  said,  had  been  re- 
peatedly seen.     S had  frequently  before  passed  this  cross 

in  the  wood  without  seeing  anything,  and  treated  the  story  of 
the  ghost  so  lightly  that  he  had,  on  more  occasions  than  one, 
for  a  bet,  gone  there  at  midnight  and  returned  without  meet- 
ing anjrthing  except  an  occasional  gamekeeper  or  poacher. 

"  This  night,  when  he  approached  the  open  space  in  the  wood, 
he  thought  he  perceived,  at  the  other  end  of  that  space,  thcj 
form  of  a  man,  more  indistinct,  however,  than  usual.  He 
called  his  dog  to  his  side  (for  previously  it  had  been  ranging 
about,  barking  furiously  and  giving  chase  to  the  game  it  started), 
patted  it  on  the  head  to  make  it  keep  a  sharp  look-out,  and 

cocked  his  gun.     The  dog,  on  this,  was  all  impatience.     S 

challenged  the  figure,  but  no  answer  was  returned.  Suspect- 
ing it  was  a  poacher  and  prepared  for  an  encounter,  he  directed 
the  dog's  attention  to  the  appearance,  and  the  animal  answered 
by  growling.  He  then  kept  his  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  the  figure  ; 
when,  instantaneously  it  glided  within  arm's  length  of  him. 
Still  he  looked  steadily  in  its  face  while  it  kept  its  eyes  on  his. 
It  had  approached  him  without  noise  or  rustling.  The  face 
was  ill-defined,  but  distinctly  visible.  He  could  not  turn  his 
eyes  from  those  of  this  apparition ;  they  fascinated  him,  as  it 
were,  to  the  spot ;  he  had  no  power  in  his  frame.  He  felt  no 
fear  of  bodily  injury,  only  a  certain  indescribable  sense  of  awe. 
So  fascLuated  were  his  eyes  by  those  of  the  figure,  that  he  did 
not  observe  its  dress,  nor  even  its  form.  It  looked  calmly  and 
with  a  mild  aspect,  for  a  space  of  time  which  he  does  not 


308  A   DOG   ENTRANCED. 

think  exceeded  half  a  minute ;  then  suddenly  became  invisi 
ble.  The  form  had  flitted  before  him  about  five  minutes  alto- 
gether. 

"  The  dog  which  before  this  was  furious  and  growling,  no\\ 
stood  crouched  at  his  feet  as  if  in  a  trance — his  jaw  fallen,  hia 
limbs  quivering,  and  his  whole  frame  agitated  and  covered 

with  a  cold  sweat.     After  the  form  disappeared,  S touched 

the  animal,  then  spoke  to  it  without  its  seeming  to  recognize 
him ;  and  it  was  some  time  before  it  appeared  to  recover  its 
senses.  The  whole  way  home,  it  never  moved  from  his  side 
but  kept  close  to  his  feet ;  nor,  on  their  way  home,  did  it  run 
after  game,  or  take  notice  if  game  started  near  it. 

"  It  was  a  fortnight  before  it  recovered  from  the  fright ;  and 
it  was  never  afterward  the  same  lively  animal.  No  consider- 
ation could  ever  again  induce  that  dog  to  enter  the  wood  after 
nightfall,  nor  would  it  allow  any  of  the  family  to  enter  it. 
When  it  was  forced  to  pass  by  the  open  spot  in  daylight,  it 
would  only  do  so  with  its  master,  and  it  always  exhibited  signs 
of  fear,  trembling  all  the  time  and  walking  silently  by  his  side. 

"  S has  frequently  since  passed  this  spot  in  the  wood  at 

the  midnight  hour,  but  has  never  again  seen  the  figure.  Be- 
fore this  occurrence  he  had  always  treated  with  ridicule  any 
stories  about  ghosts  or  spirits;  now,  he  firmly  believes  in 
both." 

The  reviewer  does  not  hesitate  to  express  the  opinion  that 
the  appearance  witnessed  by  his  friend  was  the  result  of  super- 
natural agency.* 

*  Edinburgli  Medical  and  Surgic(d  Journal  for  1845  ;  voL  Ixiv.  pp. 
186-7. 

The  reviewer's  remarks  are  as  follows  : 

"  This  is  almost  the  only  recorded  case  known  to  us  where  the  evi- 
dence is  so  strong,  as  to  leave  no  other  impression  on  the  mind  but  that 
it  was  the  appearance  of  some  supernatural  agency,  and,  after  having 
in  vain  endeavored  to  explain  it  on  any  other  supposition,  we  found 
ourselves  forced  to  conclude,  with  Hamlet,  that  '  there  are  more  things 
in  heaven  and  earth  than  are  dreamed  of  in  our  philosophy.'  " 


A  SCEPTIC   CONYEBTBD.  309 

This,  published  in  a  Medical  Journal  of  old  standing  and 
established  reputation,  three  years  before  the  term  Spiritualism 
in  its  modern  acceptation  had  been  heard  of — is  certainly  a 
very  remarkable  admission. 

The  incident  here  related  caused  a  complete  revolution  of 
opinion  in  the  witness.  From  being  an  entire  sceptic  in  appari- 
tions and  in  spirits,  he  became,  through  the  evidence  of  hia 
senses,  a  believer  in  both.  But  to  have  faith  in  spirits  and 
their  appearance  is  to  have  faith  in  the  reality  of  another 
life. 

CouJd  he,  rationally,  withhold  belief?  Is  not  one  such  in- 
cident, unmistakably  evidenced,  as  complete  proof  of  a  future 

phase  of  existence  as  a  hundred  ?     And  even  if  S had 

been  willing,  as  some  men  have  been,  to  give  the  lie  to  his 
own  senses,  rather  than  believe  that  the  denizens  of  the  next 
world  sometimes  return  to  this,  was  there  not  a  dumb  •svitnesa 
remaining  to  bear  testimony,  by  his  changed  character  and  un- 
conquerable terrors,  against  such  stiff-necked  and  illogical  utt 
beUef? 


CHAPTER  m. 

UNIVERSALITY  OP   SPIRITUAI-  MANIFESTATIONS. 
*  Miracles  cease  when  men  cease  to  believe  and  to  expect  them."-  - 

IiECKY.* 

This  is  what  is  usually  called  a  rationalistic,  but  it  is  not  a 
rational,  view  of  miracles. 

A  portion  of  the  alleged  events  which  go  currently  under  the 
name  of  miracles  undoubtedly  do  not  happen.  But  a  larger 
portion  do.  Unfounded  belief  may  cause  us  to  imagine  the 
former.  The  latter  are  not  dependent  upon  our  thought  oi 
them — ^be  it  credulous  or  incredulous  f  — for  their  appearance 
or  non-appearance. 

What  the  world  has  been  wont  to  term  miracles,  cease  to  be 
regarded  as  such  when  they  are  critically  examined :  that  is  true. 

But  it  is  not  true  that  phenomena  similar  to  what  theolo 
gians  usually  call  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  cease, 
when  we  no  longer  have  faith  in  them,  or  when  we  cease  to 
lo-^k  for  their  coming.  It  is  not  true,  as  to  certain  manifesta- 
tions occurring  through  spiritual  agency,  and  governed  by  in- 
termundane  laws,  that  these  are  the  shadowy  oftspring  of  cre- 
dulity, and  that  they  disappear,  like  mist  of  the  morning,  when 
the  Sun  of  Reason  shines  out. 

*  European  Morals^  vol.  i.  p.  373  :  (Amer.  Ed.) 

f  Hard-set  unbelief  may,  now  and  then,  by  some  law  of  mental  sci- 
ence as  yet  imperfectly  understood,  arrest  a  certain  class  of  sptritual 
phenomena,  and  so  deprive  a  dogmatic  sceptic  of  a  chance  to  witne^33 
them :  just  as  the  contempt  of  Jesus'  own  countrymen  diminished  hia 
^spiritual  power  while  among  them  (Mark  vi  5).  But  this  is  the 
exception  only ;  as  many  of  the  narratives  in  this  volume  sufficiently 
ehow. 


A   SUPERSTITIOUS    EPIDEMIC?  311 

The  great  lesson  taught  in  the  few  narratives  I  have  already 
given,  in  many  of  those  which  follow  and  in  a  hundred  others 
attested  beyond  reasonable  denial,*  is  that  genuine  spiritual 
appearances  show  themselves  in  spite  of  distrust,  unbelief,  re- 
pugnance even — show  themselves,  when  the  sight  of  an  angel 
from  Heaven  was  as  little  expected  as  they — and,  so  far  as  the 
evidence  goes,  have  always  done  so,  though  doubtless  more  fre- 
quently in  some  ages  of  the  world  than  in  others. 

It  is  a  popular  notion  that,  about  twenty-five  years  since,  a 
superstitious  epidemic,  originating  in  Western  New  York,  over- 
took millions  of  weak  men  and  women,  first  in  these  United 
States,  then  in  Europe  and  other  parts  of  the  world  ;  creating 
in  them  a  most  unphilosophical  belief:  namely,  that  there  ha* 
appeared  among  us  a  modem  dispensation,  under  which  there 
were  occurring  marvellous  events  without  example  in  the  past, 
and  specially  vouchsafed  by  God  to  this,  his  favored  generation. 
The  assumed  theory  is  that  this  new  faith  was  the  mania  pre- 
vailing for  the  time ;  soon  to  pass  away,  like  a  hundred  other 
ephemeral  delusions. 

These  short-cuts  toward  a  solution  of  momentous  difficulties 
are  very  convenient  and  very  illogical.  They  save  men  trouble 
in  investigating ;  but  they  cannot  save  them  from  errors  of  the 
gravest  character. 

Nothing  more  easy  than  to  allege  that  if  we  go  back  even  a 
few  years  before  the  time  when  the  report  of  the  "  Kochester 
"Knockings  "  disgusted  the  Church  and  scandalized  the  world 
of  Science,  we  come  upon  an  age  barren  of  all  miraculous  ink- 
lings, save  only  within  the  suspicious  precincts  where  Romisl: 
ecclesiasticism  reigns. 

— Easy  to  say,  but  at  variance  with  notorious  facts.  The  eai  - 
liest  date  of  the  Rochester  disturbances  is  March,  1848.  Will 
ib  do  to  assert  that,  say  ten  or  fifteen  years  before  that  time, 
one  cannot  find,  in  any  sober,  civilized  nation,  where  scienca 
holds  free  and  respected  sway,  trustworthy  evidence  that  oc 

*  See  FootfaU8^  Books  iii.,  iv.,  v. 


312  A  CLUSTER  OF  NAEEATIVE8 

currences  as  strange  and  as  little  capable  of  apneumatic  expla- 
nation— spiritual  manifestations  in  fact — were  habitually  show- 
ing  themselves? 

Let  us  see.  Our  own  country  is  spoken  of  as  young,  impul- 
sive, credulous,  not  given  to  thorough  study.  Let  us,  in  this 
instance,  pass  her  by,  for  another.  The  English  are  staid,  prac- 
tical, thoughtful ;  not  easily  moved  from  their  equanimity ;  not 
specially  tolerant  of  startling  novelties ;  sufficiently  sensitive  to 
the  sting  of  ridicule ;  sufficiently  inclined  to  follow  the  old  ruts 
of  habit  and  custom,  legally,  materially,  spiritually.  In  no 
country  is  Science  more  free ;  in  none  are  scientific  men  harder 
students,  more  sceptical,  or  more  active-minded. 

The  more  valuable,  because  of  these  national  traits,  is  the  fol- 
lowing narrative,  or  cluster  of  narratives,  to  which,  through 
the  kindness  of  a  Scottish  friend  whom  the  world,  alas !  has  re- 
cently lost,*  my  attention  happened  to  be  directed.  He  put 
into  my  hands  a  remarkable  book,  little  known,  written,  thirty 
years  since,  by  a  gentleman  of  standing;  an  English  officer  and 
a  Fellow  of  the  E-oyal  Society,  f 

The  author  of  this  work  testifies  to  a  disturbance  of  a  very 
singular  character  which  occurred  at  his  country  seat,  near 
Woodbridge,  Suffialk.  It  continued  throughout  nearly  two 
months.     The  details  are  minutely  given. 

Fifty-three  Days  of  Bell  Ringing. 

This  disturbance  commenced  on  the  second  of  February,  1834, 
at  the  house  of  Great  Bealings,  inhabited  by  Major  Edward 
Moor.  On  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  being  Sunday,  during  the 
absence  of  Major  Moor  at  church  and  while  only  one  man- 
servant and  one  maid-servant  were  at  home,  the  dining-room 

*  Robert  Chambers. 

f  Bealings  BeUs.  An  Account  of  the  Mysterious  Ringing  of-:  Bells, 
at  Great  Bealings,  Suffolk,  in  1834,  and  in  other  parts  of  England  :  with 
Relations  of  other  unaccountable  Occurrences  in  various  places.  By 
Major  Edward  Moor,  F.R.S.  ;  Woodbridge,  1841 :  pp.  143. 


FEOM   AN  ENGLISH   WORK.  313 

bell  was  rung,  without  visible  cause,  three  times.  The  weather 
was  calm;  the  barometer  at  29°  ;  the  thermometer  within  ita 
usual  range.  There  were  no  remarkable  atmospheric  phenom- 
ena. 

Next  day  the  same  bell  sounded  several  times,  equally  with- 
out apparent  cause.  On  the  third  day  five  out  of  the  nine  bells 
suspended  in  a  row  in  the  basement  of  the  house,  gave  forth 
several  loud  peals,  while  nobody  could  detect  any  one  meddling 
either  with  the  pulls  or  the  wires. 

After  this  all  the  bells  in  the  house,  twelve  in  number,  were 
(except  one,  the  front-door  bell)  repeatedly  rung  in  the  same 
manner :  five  bells  usually  ringing  at  a  time.  The  wires  of 
these  five  pecders  were  visible  in  theii*  whole  course,  from  the 
pulls  to  the  bells  themselves,  except  where  they  passed  through 
floors  or  walls  by  small  openings. 

This  continued  day  after  day  throughout  February  and  March. 
The  bells  usually  rang  after  a  clattering  fashion,  quite  different 
from  the  usual  ringing.  "  With  no  vigor  of  pull,"  says  Maj  or 
Moor,  "could  the  violent  ringing  be  effected."  Pulling  the 
horizontal  wires  with  a  hook,  downward,  produced  only  a  gen- 
tle, tinkling  sound.  The  Major  further  says:  "The  motion  of 
the  bells,  and  that  of  their  spiral  flexible  support,  when  rung 
by  hand,  was  comparatively  slow  and  perceptible :  not  so,  at 
the  peals ;  it  was  then  too  rapid  to  be  seen  distinctly."  * 

Major  Moor  was  naturally  much  surprised  by  these  appa- 
rent prodigies;  and  he,  his  servants,  and  friends  made  many 
efforts  to  find  some  natural  explanation,  but  wholly  without 
success.  Then  he  inserted  a  minute  statement  of  particulars  in 
the  Ipswich  ^Tourncd,  f  describing  the  situations  of  the  bells 
and  the  arrangement  of  their  wires,  in  hopes  that  some  one 
would  be  able  to  suggest  an  explanation ;  but  no  explanation 
beyond  surmises  of  trickery  ever  reached  him  :  in  reply  to  cer 

*  Beolings  BeUs,  p.  6. 

f  Of  March  1,  1834.  He  states  that  during  the  very  time  he  waa 
writiiig  his  communication  to  this  newspaper,  the  bells  were  rei)eatedly 
rung. 

14 


314  A    CLASS   OF   DISTURBANCES 

taia  inqiiir(  rs  who  probably  thought  they  were  suggesting  ad« 
equate  caust  he  replied  that  his  house  was  not  infested  with 
rats,  and  that  he  kept  no  monkey. 

The  last  ringing  was  on  March  27,  1834.  It  is  abundantly 
evident,  from  Major  Moor's  book,  that  he  spared  no  pains, 
throughout  the  seven  and  a  half  weeks  during  which  the  strange 
annoyance  lasted,  to  detect  fraudulent  artifice,  had  artifice,  under 
such  circumstances,  been  possible.  He  avers :  "  The  bells  rang 
scores  of  times  when  no  one  was  in  the  passage  or  back-building 
or  house  or  grounds,  unseen  :  I  have  waited  in  the  kitchen  for 
a  repetition  of  the  ringings,  with  all  the  servants  present — when 
no  one  could  be  in  concealment.  But  what  matters  ?  Neither 
I,  nor  the  servants,  nor  any  one,  could,  or  can,  work  the  won- 
derment that  I  and  more  than  half  a  score  of  others  saw." 
Filially,  the  Major  declares :  "  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that 
the  ringing  is  by  no  human  agency.* 

Now,  on  the  supposition  that  what  have  been  called  spiri- 
tual manifestations — doings  which  we  can  trace  to  no  human 
ftgency — are  the  modem  ofispring  of  an  epidemic  commencing 
in  1848,  what  should  we  suppose  might  be  the  probable  result 
of  a  newspaper  article  narrating  the  above  occurrence,  and 
published  in  an  English  paper  in  1834  ?  Simply  that  the  fool- 
hardy narrator  would  incur  ridicule  as  a  dupe,  or  encounter 
reproach  as  an  impostor. 

But  what  actually  happens  ? 

Disclosures  through  Bealings  Bells. 

From  Major  Moor's  book  we  learn  that  his  communication  to 
the  Ipswich  tTournal  brought  him  letters  containing  fourteen 
different  examples  of  mysterious  bell-ringing,  every  one  of 
fchem  unexplained ;  all  occurring  in  England,  namely,  in  the 
Counties  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Kent,  Derby,  Middlesex,  and  in 
or  near   the   towns  of  Chelmsford,  Cheltenham,  Chesterfield^ 

*  BeaUngs  BeUs,  p.  5. 


APPF.ARTNQ  THBOUGHOUT  ENGLAND.  315 

Cambridge,  Bristol,  Greenwich,  Windsor,  and  London ;  all  of  / 
comparatively  recent  date,  and  most  of  them  attested  by  th4  1 
signatures  of  those  who  witnessed  them,  with  permission  to  I  i 
give  their  names  to  the  public.  He  received  also  three  other  I 
3ommunications  disclosing  further  mysteries,  to  which  I  shal?  j 
L*efer  by  and  by.  — 

The  fourteen  examples,  be  it  remarked,  are  all  of  one  partic 
ular  phase  of  manifestation ;  a  rare  phase,  so  far  as  my  obser- 
vation goes :  I  have  notes  of  but  one  such  in  the  United  States, 
namely,  in  a  house  in  Pine  street,  Philadelphia ;  lasting  during 
five  days  of  the  week  between  Christmas  and  New  Year's  Day, 
1857.* 

But  even  of  this  rare  phase  of  manifestation,  we  cannot  im- 
agine that  in  the  fourteen  examples  presented  in  dealings 
£dls,  we  have  more  than  a  very  small  instalment  of  similar 
cases  which  might  be  found  in  England.  The  chances  are  that 
nine  men  or  women  of  the  world,  out  of  every  ten,  would 
shrink  from  the  notoriety,  or  shirk  the  trouble,  attendant  on  the 
presentation  of  such  narratives  for  publication. 

Even  in  this  small  book,  then,  what  a  lifting  of  the  veil  on 
the  thousand  marvels  that  may  have  occurred  in  all  ages,  unre- 
corded or  unexplained ! 

Unable  for  lack  of  space  to  notice  Major  Moor's  fourteen 
relations,  I  here  briefly  condense  the  evideroes  in  three  of 
them. 

An  Eighteen-months'   Disturbance. 

In  a  house  near  Chesterfield,  belonging  to  Mr.  James  Ash- 
well,  "  long  and  repeated  bell-ringings,"  commencing  in  1830 
and  continuing  throughout  eighteen  months,  occurred. 

*  In  this  case,  there  being-  a  sick  lady  in  the  house,  the  attending 
nurse  said  the  disturbance  must  be  stopped,  and  she  herself  muffled  the 
beEs,  wrapping  the  clappers  with  cloth  and  then  tying  them  with  twine. 
Three  hours  later  they  rang  themselves  loose  of  everything,  pealing 
more  violently  than  before.  Finally  they  rang  themselves  loose  from 
the  wall  itself,  drawing  out  the  staples,  five  inches  long — Vien  the  beUi 


316  SATAN  IN   THE   BELLS. 

The  details  are  given,  partly  by  Mr.  Ashwell  himself,  partl;y 
by  Mr.  W.  Felkiii,  of  Nottingham,  a  friend  of  his. 

According  to  Mr.  Felkin's  statement,  "  all  the  bells  in  the 
house  rang  at  one  time  or  other ;  but  never  before  five  in  the 
morning  nor  after  eleven  at  night.  The  oscillation  was  like 
that  of  a  pendulum,  not  a  decreasing  one.  A  bell  was  put  up 
one  Saturday  evening,  unattached  to  any  wire,  and  rang  in  half 
an  hour.*  Another  bell  which  had  been  taken  down  and  laid 
on  a  closet  shelf,  lay  there  quiescent  for  some  weeks ;  but  being 
then  fixed  by  means  of  the  flexible  bent  iron  to  which  it  war 
attached  between  a  wooden  hat-peg  batten  and  the  wall  against 
which  the  batten  was  nailed,  it  rang  immediately,  f 

These   bells  were  wont  to  ring  continuously,  with  violent 

;'   clatter  and  for  a  considerable  time.     Sometimes,  during  their 

/    greatest  vibration,  Mr.  Ashwell  would  seize  one  of  them  bet  weep 

his  hands,  and  compel  cessation ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  released  it, 

it  would  resume  its  oscillation  and  ringing. 

All  the  bells  were  hung  out  of  reach.  Bell-hangers,  of 
course,  were  called  to  lend  their  aid ;  but  nothing  was  found  to 
indicate  that  bell  or  bell- wire  had  been  tampered  with.  On  a 
particular  occasion,  while  a  bell-hanger  was  engaged  in  re-attach- 
ing the  wires,  after  a  long  silence,  one  of  the  bells  began  to 
ring  before  his  face.  Down  dropped  the  man  from  the  ladder ; 
and,  without  waiting  to  gather  up  his  tools,  off  he  ran  as  fast 
as  his  legs  could  carry  him,  crying  out  that  Satan  was  in  the 
bells,  and  that  he  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  them. 

The  house  where  all  this  happened  was  so  substantial,  its 
walls  so  thick,  and  its  foundations  so  large  that  the  highest 
winds  were  unfelt  within  it.  "  Every  part  of  this  extensive  man- 
sion," says  Mr.  Felkin,  "was  examined  by  me  with  the  strictest 
care,  and  I  could  not  divine  the  motive  natural  power  adequate 
to  the  effect." 

rang  on  the  floor.     The  inmates  of  the  house  were  not  Spiiitualista 
nor  m  any  sense  favorers  of  spiritual  belief. 

*  Bealings  BeUs,  p.  48. 

\  Page  56. 


ALL  INQUIRIES   BAFFLED.  317 

Llr.  Felkin  says  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Ashwell,  that  "  he  is  the 
reverse  of  superstitious;  well-educated,  philosophical,  and  in- 
defatigable in  research."  Mr.  Ashwell  "  tried  various  experi- 
ments with  electrometers  and  other  tests,"  and  spoke  on  the 
subject  with  many  men  of  science ;  but  all  without  result.  Mr. 
Felkin  never  heard  Mr.  Ashwell  "  hazard  a  guess  as  to  the 
cause." 

Again  and  again,  indeed,  attempts  were  made,  as  well  by  the 
family  as  by  numerous  visitors,  to  discover  the  occult  agency, 
"  both  when  the  bells  were  connected  with  lines  and  when  the 
wires  had  been  cut  for  months :  a  circumstance  which  made  no 
apparent  difference  in  their  sounding  disposition."  But  "  these 
events  quite  baffled  the  acutest  inquirer." 

Ringings  so  persistent  caused  great  excitement,  not  only  in 
the  house,  but,  being  noised  abroad,  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
servants  were  greatly  alarmed,  and  some  left  their  places.  The 
children,  too,  were  frightened,  but  were  pacified  by  being  told 
that  "  the  bells  were  ill." 

A  public  footpath  passed  near  Mr.  Ashwell's  front  door ;  and 
"  many  passengers  made  a  circuit  rather  than  pass  close  to 
it." 

Another  observation  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  this 
case  which  is  intelligible  enough  to  us,  but  was,  no  doubt,  a 
puzzle  to  Major  Moor,  writing  at  a  time^when  "sensitives" 
and  "  mediums  "  had  not  yet  been  heard  of.  It  was  this :  The 
gossips  of  the  vicinity  remarked,  as  to  a  young  lady  who  resided 
in  JNIr.  Ashv/ell's  family,  that  the  occurrences  were  nearly  coin- 
cident with  her  stay  in  the  house,  and  ceased  about  the  time  she 
left  it.  But  (it  is  added)  it  does  not  appear  that  the  slightest 
voluntary  agency  on  her  part  was  suspected  by  the  family,  who 
had  the  best  means  of  detecting  it.* 

The  next  narrative  comes  from  a  Londoner : 

*  This  naxrative  extends  fiom  page  45  to  page  56  of  Bext/mg* 


318  BELLS  m  UFBOAB. 


A  Lady's  Account  of  Bell  Bingings. 

Among  the  numerous  letters  received  by  Major  Moor  wai 
one  from  a  Mrs.  Milnes,  dated  No.  19  St.  Paul's  Terrace,  Is- 
lington, May  17,  1834. 

The  writer  says :  "  In  the  early  part  of  February,  1825,  re- 
turning home  from  a  walk  (to  our  then  residence,  No.  9  Earl 
street,  Westminster),  about  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon,  I 
was  astonished  to  find  the  family  much  disturbed  at  the  ringing 
of  bells  in  the  house,  without  visible  cause.  The  first  bell 
rung  was  in  the  nursery,  the  pull  of  which  was  at  the  bottom 
of  the  house,  quite  unconnected  with  any  others.  This  bell 
rang  several  times  before  the  rest  began;  then  that  of  the 
dining-room ;  next  that  of  the  drawing-room,  and  so  on,  through 
the  house :  sometimes  altogether,  as  if  they  were  trj'ing  to 
(mtice  each  other  in  uproar;  at  others  one  at  a  time,  but  always 
violently. 

**  By  this  time  I  was  much  alarmed  and  sent  for  Mr.  Milnea 
who,  thinking  to  find  out  what  ailed  them,  had  the  cases  taken 
down  that  concealed  the  wires.  Finding  this  of  no  use,  he 
next  placed  a  person  with  a  light  in  each  room,  while  he  him- 
self held  a  candle  under  the  row  of  bells  below ;  but  we  could 
not  then  ascertain  the  slightest  reason  for  this  strange  ringing, 
which  lasted  two  hours  and  a  half:  nor  have  we  ever  since 
been  able  to  discover  more  of  it  than  we  did  then." 

Here  again,  as  in  the  preceding  example,  we  have  an  incident 
probably  intimating  through  whose  unconscious  mediumship 
these  phenomena  occurred.  Mr.  Milnes  adds ;  "  It  had  a  sur- 
prising effect  upon  one  of  our  servant  girls,  a  mulatto.  She, 
from  the  first,  had  been  more  terrified  than  any  one  else  in  the 
house ;  and,  at  the  last  peal,  fell  into  strong  convulsions ;  so 
strong  as  to  require  several  men  to  hold  her  down.  These  con- 
vulsions continued  sixteen  hours  and  were  succeeded  by  insen- 
sibility, and  a  stupor  that,  lasted  nearly  a  week  :  every  meana 
being  used  to  restore  her,  but  without  effect.     It  is  singular 


A   COMBADE   OF   NELSON  PUZZLED.  319 

that  the  moment  she  was  seized  with  these  fits  the  bells  ceased 
to  ring."  * 

Bells  in   Greenwich  Hospital. 

The  details  in  this  case  come,  as  in  the  preceding  examples, 
from  a  witness  present,  namely,  from  Lieutenant  Rivers,  R.  N., 
a  comrade  of  Nelson,  who  had  lost  a  leg  in  the  service.  They 
are  given  in  a  letter  from  that  officer  to  Major  Moor,  dated 
AprQ  26,  1841. 

The  bells  began  to  ring  September  30,  1834,  in  Lieutenant 
Rivers'  apartments  situated  in  the  hospital ;  and  they  contin- 
ued four  days. 

The  ringing  was  at  intervals  of  five  to  ten  minutes ;  four 
bells  sometimes  sounding  at  once.  "  In  the  evening,"  says  the 
Lieutenant,  "  about  eight  o'clock,  I  tied  up  the  clappers :  while 
BO  doing  the  bells  were  much  agitated  and  shook  violently.  In 
the  morning  when  I  loosed  them,  they  began  to  ring." 

"  The  clerk  of  the  works,  his  assistant  and  Mr.  Thame,  the 
bell-hanger,  came  and  had  another  examination,  without  dis- 
covery of  the  cause.  They  requested  that  the  family  and 
servants  would  leave  the  apartments  to  them.  We  did  so, 
dining  at  a  neighbor's  opposite  ;  and  while  at  dinner  we  heard 
the  bells  ring  a  peal.  Mr.  Thame  and  the  assistant  remained 
till  eleven  o'clock ;  the  one  watching  the  cranks,  the  other  the 
bells  below,  in  perfect  astonishment." 

He  adds:  "Several  scientific  men  tried  to  discover  the 
cause.  The  front-door  bell,  detached  from  the  others,  did  not 
ring.  I  secui*ed  the  door-pull  to  prevent  its  being  used,  leav- 
ing the  bell  to  have  full  play.  About  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  I  went  home  and  found  many  persons  satisfying  their 
cuiiosity.  When  explaining  to  them  that  I  thought  it  extra- 
ordinary that  the  front-door  did  not  join  in  the  performance! 


BeaUngs  BdU^  pp.  60-62. 


320  EXAMPLES  OF  HOUSE  HAXJNTmG 

it  immediately  set  up  a  good  ring.  *  The  cause  of  all  this  re 
mains  still  mysterious." 

Another  observation  made  in  this  case  is  worth  noting 
"  What  appeared  most  extraordinary  was  the  movement  of  the 
cranks  which,  the  bell-hanger  said,  could  not  cause  the  bells  to 
ring  without  being  pulled  downward :  and  this  they  did  ol 
themselves,  in  every  room ;  working  like  pump-handles." 

Lieutenant  Rivers  adds  that  similar  phenomena  occurred  in 
another  officer's  apartments  in  the  hospital,  continuing  for  a 
week,  f 

To  multiply  examples  from  Major  Moor's  book  would  but 
involve  tedious  repetition  ;  seeing  that  the  narratives  all  resem- 
ble each  other:  the  same  violent  ringings  or  pealiags,  some- 
times for  a  few  hours  only,  sometimes  for  months ;  the  same 
care  to  detect  trickery  :  the  same  anxiety  to  discover  the  cause ; 
and,  in  every  case,  the  same  result:  inability  to  trace  the  phe- 
nomena to  any  human  agency. 

There  is  another  phase  of  manifestations,  analogous  to  the 
above;  sometimes,  like  them,  of  a  mere  material  character, 
sometimes  indicating  intelligence;  and  which,  because  it  hap 
been  popularly  ascribed  to  restless  spirits,  revisiting  theii 
former  homes,  is  commonly  termed  haunting.  J 

Of  this,  again,  there  are  two  varieties ;  one  characterized  by 
knockings  and  other  unexplained  noises;  the  other,  often  at* 
taching  itself  to  ancient  family  residences  in  England  and  other 
countries,  marked  by  the  phenomenon  of  apparition.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  old,  well-known  English  names  of  rank  have 
their  family  legend,  referring  to  peculiar  disturbances  or  ap- 
pearances, usually  persistent  through  generations,  and  generally 
confined  to  some  ancestral  mansion. 

Especially  when  the  haunting  assumes  the  form  of  a  "  family 

*  Yet,  as  this  bell  was  so  situated  that  the  wire  could  readily  b« 
reached  by  the  hand,  the  incident,  taken  by  itself,  is  not  conclusive, 
f  Bealings  Bells,  pp.  81-83. 
X  For  numerous  examples,  see  FootfaMs^  Book  iii  chap.  2. 


COMMON  m  BNGLAin).  321 

ghost "  is  the  story,  outside  of  the  family  itself,  wont  to  be 
pooh-poohed  as  a  nursery  tale.  Ko  doubt  such  narratives  often 
involve  exaggeration,  mystification,  illusion.  As  little  doubt, 
however — if  we  but  sift  the  genuine  from  the  spurious — that 
many  of  them  have  foundation  in  truth.  We  have,  testimony 
in  proof  from  eye-witnesses  of  such  standing  that  we  have  not 
the  right  to  impugn  their  intelligence  or  their  veracity. 

Take  an  example,  from  a  recent  publication.  Florence  Mar- 
ryat,  daughter  of  the  celebrated  noveKst,  gave,  less  than  a  year 
ago,  in  an  American  j)eriodical,*  three  stories  of  apparitions, 
which  she  attests  as  "strictly  true  and  well  autheticated."  Of 
these  the  last  was  witnessed  by  her  father,  Captain  Marryat, 
and  is  related  as  she  heard  it  from  his  own  lips.  I  condense  por- 
tions of  it,  giving  the  main  facts  in  the  author's  own  language. 

In  one  of  the  northern  counties  of  England  stands  a  coun- 
try house,  Burnham  Green,  inherited  by  the  present  occupants, 
Sir  Harry  and  Lady  Bell,  f  Their  house  had  its  ghost;  but, 
"like  most  sensible  people,  they  laughed  at  the  report :  "  sur- 
rounding themselves  with  every  luxury  and  not  heeding  the 
legend. 

Their  numerous  friends,  cordially  invited,  flocked  to  Burn- 
ham  Green,  thought  the  place  and  its  host  and  hostess  charm- 
ing ;  yet,  after  a  while,  made  paltry  excuses  to  cuiiiail  their 
visits  and  were  shy  of  being  lured  there  again.  It  came  out 
that  they  had  heard  of  the  ghost,  some  declared  they  had  seen 
it,  and  the  rest  could  not  be  persuaded  to  remain  under  a 
haunted  roof. 

*'  Sir  Harry  and  Lady  Bell  were  thoroughly  vexed  and  did  all 
they  could  to  dissipate  the  superstition.     They  disinterred  the 

*  Harper's  Weekly,  issue  of  December  24,  1870 ;  pages  846  and  847. 

f  These  are  not  tbe  real  names.  The  writer  says:  "While  I  pre- 
serve all  details  of  these  stories,  I  carefully  hide  the  names  of  persona 
and  places,  lest  by  neghgence  in  this  respect  I  should  wound  the  feel- 
ings of  survivors."  She  says  also  that  the  stories  which  she  has  related 
are  selected  from  a  number  of  Bimilar  anecdotes  which  rise  in  hei 
memory  as  she  writes. 


322  A  GHOST  6T0ET   RELATED 

hisliory  of  the  ghost  who  went  by  the  name  of  '  The  Iiady  of 
Burnham  Green,'  and  found  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  thf 
spirit  of  one  of  their  ancestresses  who  had  lived  in  the  time  of 
Elizabeth  J  and  had  been  suspected  of  poisoning  her  husband. 
Her  picture  hung  in  one  of  the  unused  bedrooms." 

Lady  Bell  caused  this  bedroom  to  be  renovated  and  cheer- 
fully fitted  up ;  and  she  had  the  picture  of  the  Lady  cleaned 
and  new-framed.  In  vain  !  "  No  one  could  be  found  to  sleep 
in  that  room.  The  servants  gave  warning,  if  it  was  simply 
proposed  to  them,  and  visitors  invariably  requested  to  have 
their  room  changed  after  the  second  or  third  night.  Guesi 
after  guest  took  flight,  to  return  no  more." 

In  this  dilemma  Sir  Harry  applied  to  Captain  Marryat,  an 
old  friend  of  his,  for  advice.  The  Captain,  utterly  disbelieving 
the  story,  ofiered  to  occupy  the  haunted  chamber :  an  offer 
which  was  eagerly  accepted. 

With  a  brace  of  loaded  pistols  under  his  pillow,  he  was  un- 
disturbed for  several  nights,  and  was  beginning  to  think  of  re 
turning  home  :  but  he  was  not  to  escape  so  easily. 

After  a  week  had  passed,  one  evening  wlien  Captain  Mar 
ryat  was  about  to  retire  for  the  night,  Mr.  Lascelles,  one  of  the 
guests,  tapped  at  his  door  and  asked  him  to  cross  to  his  room 
and  inspect  a  newly-invented  fowling-piece,  the  merits  of  which 
they  had  just  before  been  discussing  in  the  smoking  room. 
The  Captain,  who  had  already  divested  himself  of  coat  and 
waistcoat,  picked  up  a  pistol — "  in  case  we  meet  the  ghost  "  he 
said  jestingly — passed  along  the  corridor  to  Mr.  Lascelles'  room, 
and,  after  chatting  for  a  few  minutes,  over  the  virtues  of  the 
new  gun,  turned  to  go.  Mr.  Lascelles  returned  with  him 
**  just  to  protect  you  from  the  ghost,"  he  said  laughingly,  in 
imitation  of  the  former  allusion.  The  corridor  was  long  and 
dark,  the  lights  having  been  extinguished  at  midnight ;  but  as 
they  entered  it  they  saw  a  dim  light  advancing  from  the  farther 
end — a  light  held  by  a  female  figure.  The  children  of  several 
of  the  families  were  lodged  on  the  floor  above,  and  Lascelles 
suggested  that  this  was  probably  some  lady  going  to  visit  the 


BY  FLOBENCE  MABEYAT.  323 

nurseries.  The  Captain,  remembering  that  he  was  in  shiri 
and  trousers  and  unwilling  to  face  a  lady  in  that  guise,  dre-w 
his  companion  aside.  The  conclusion  shall  be  told  in  the  nar 
rator's  own  words. 

The  Lady  of  Burnham  Green. 

"  The  rooms  in  the  corridor  were  placed  opposite  each  other, 
and  were  approached  by  double  doors,  the  first  of  which,  on 
being  opened,  disclosed  a  small  entry  and  the  second  door, 
which  led  to  the  bedchamber  itself.  Many  persons,  on  enter- 
ing their  rooms,  only  closed  this  second  door,  leaving  the  other 
standing  open ;  and  thus,  when  Mr.  Lascelles  and  my  father 
stepped  into  one  of  these  recesses,  they  were  enabled  to  shelter 
themselves  behind  the  half-closed  portal. 

"  There,  in  the  gloom,  they  crouched  together,  very  much 
inclined  to  laugh,  I  have  no  doubt,  at  the  situation  in  which 
they  found  themselves,  but  terribly  afraid  lest  by  a  betrayal 
of  their  illegal  presence  they  should  alarm  the  occupant  of  the 
bedroom  before  which  they  stood,  or  the  lady  who  was  advanc- 
ing to  the  place  of  their  concealment. 

"  Very  slowly  she  advanced,  or  so  it  seemed  to  them ;  but 
they  could  watch  the  glimmer  of  her  lamp  through  the  crack 
of  the  door ;  and  presently  my  father,  who  had  pertinaciously 
kept  his  eye  there,  gave  the  half-smothered  exclamation,  *  Las- 
celles !     By  Jove ! — tlie  Lady  ! ' 

"  He  had  studied  the  picture  of  the  supposed  apparition  care- 
fully, was  intimate  with  every  detail  of  her  dress  and  appear- 
ance, and  felt  that  he  could  not  be  mistaken  in  the  red  satin 
sacque,  white  stomacher  and  petticoat,  high-standing  frill,  and 
cushioned  hair  of  the  figure  now  advancing  toward  them. 

"  *  A  splendid  "  make-up," '  he  said,  beneath  his  breath ; 
*  but  whoever  has  done  it  shall  find  I  know  a  trick  worth  two 
of  his.' 

"  But  Mr.  Lascelles  said  nothing.  Imposition  or  not,  he 
did  not  like  the  looks  of  the  Lady  of  Burnham  Green. 


S24:  THE   LADY   AND   THE   CAPTAIN. 

"  On  she  came,  quiet  and  dignified,  looking  neither  tio  » d« 
right  nor  to  the  left,  while  my  father  cocked  his  pistol,  and 
stood  ready  for  her.  He  expected  she  would  pass  their  place 
of  hiding,  and  intended  to  pursue  and  make  her  speak  to  him  ] 
but  instead  of  that,  the  dim  light  gained  the  door,  and  then 
stood  still. 

"  Lascelles  shuddered.  He  was  a  brave  man,  but  sensitive. 
Even  my  father's  ii*on  nerves  prompted  him  to  be  quiescent. 

"  In  another  moment  the  lamp  moved  on  again,  came  closer, 
closer ;  and  round  the  half-closed  door,  gazing  inquisitively  at 
them,  as  though  really  curious  to  see  v/ho  was  there,  peered 
the  pale  face  and  cruel  eyes  of  the  Lady  of  Bui'nham  Green. 

"  Simultaneously  my  father  pushed  open  the  door  and  con- 
fronted her.  She  stood  before  him  in  the  corridor  just  as  she 
stood  in  the  picture  in  his  bedroom,  but  with  a  smile  of  mali- 
cious triumph  on  her  face ;  and  goaded  on  by  her  expression, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  did,  he  raised  his  pistol  and  fired  full 
at  her.  The  ball  penetrated  the  door  of  the  room  opposite  to 
where  they  stood  ;  and,  with  the  same  smile  upon  her  face,  shr 
passed  through  the  panels  and  disappeared." 

Of  course  there  was  no  explanation  except  what  the  appear- 
ance and  disappearance  of  the  apparition  afibrded.  If  spirits 
cannot  appear,  what  was  it  that  these  two  gentleman  saw  and 
one  of  them  fired  at  ? 

No  narrative  resembling  the  above  was  communicated  to 
Major  Moor;  but  he  had  sent  to  him,  and  has  recorded  in  his 
book,  three  cases  of  hauntings. 

They  have  this  in  common  that  the  witnesses  all  testify  to 
violenc  knockings,  sometimes  accompanied  by  other  strange, 
disturbing  noises ;  but  they  differ  in  this  respect :  one  case 
seems  to  have  been  of  a  personal  character,  that  is,  dependent 
on  the  presence  of  some  individual — sensitive  or  medium,  as 
the  modern  phrase  is ;  the  two  others,  it  would  appear,  were 
independent  of  personal  attributes — were  local  and  permanent. 


FROM   AN  ENGLISH   CLEEGYMAN.  SSS 

continuing  through  several  generations  :  or,  as  we  might  express 
it,  were  endemical. 

Such  is  the  following  contained  in  a  letter  written  hy  an  Eng- 
lish clergyman  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  which  had  been  made  by 
Major  Moor. 

t 

The  House  of  Mystery. 

Sydebsterne  Parsonage,  near  Fakenham,  / 
JSforfolk,  May  11,  1841.         J 

Sir  :  You  have,  indeed,  sent  your  letter,  received  yesterday, 
to  the  House  of  Mystery.  In  the  broad  lands  of  England  you 
cannot,  perhaps,  find  such  another.  But  I  regret  to  add  thai 
I  can  afford  you  no  assistance  in  the  "  Bell "  line. 

"  Our  noises,  in  this  parsonage,  are  of  a  graver  character ; 
smart  successions  of  tappings,  groanings,  cryings,  sobbings, 
disgusting  scratchings,  heavy  tramj^ings  and  thundering  knocks, 
in  all  the  rooms  and  passages,  have  distressed  us  here  for  a 
period  of  nearly  nine  years,  during  my  occupancy  of  this 
Cure.  They  still  continue,  to  the  annoyance  of  my  family,  the 
alarm  of  my  servants,  and  the  occasional  flight  of  some  of 
them. 

"  I  am  enabled  clearly  to  trace  their  existence  in  this  par- 
sonage to  a  period  of  sucty  years  past ;  and  I  have  little  doubt 
that,  were  not  all  the  residents  anterior  to  that  time  now 
passed  away,  I  could  be  able  to  carry  my  successful  scrutiny 
on  and  on. 

"In  1833  and  1834  we  kept  almost  open  house  to  enable 
respectable  people  who  were  personally  known,  or  had  been 
introduced  to  us,  to  satisfy  their  curiosity.  But  our  kiudness 
was  abused,  our  motives  misinterpreted,  and  even  our  charac- 
t«i-s  maligned.     Therefore  we  closed  our  doors. 

"In  1834  I  had  prepared  my  diary  for  publication.  My 
work  was  to  be  published  by  Mr.  Rodd,  the  eminent  book 
seller  of  Ne\^*port  street,  London  ;   but  as  the  end  had  not  aJ 


326  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTUBBANCES 

rived  I  postponed  my  intention  from  day  to  day  and  year  tc 
year,  in  hope  of  such  consummation."  *     .     .     . 

"  (Signed)  John  Stewart. 

"  To  Major  Edward  Moor.'''' 

Here  we  have  an  example  how  the  knowledge  and  the  mem- 
ory of  such  occurrences  slip  away.  I  cannot  learn  that  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Stewart's  diary  has  ever  appeared.  The  dislike  of 
notoriety  as  a  visionary,  or  worse,  has  caused  the  suppression 
of  a  hundred  similar  expositions. 

The  next  case,  one  of  knockings  and  other  unexplaine<l 
noises,  apparently  caused  by  the  presence  of  a  medium,  I  pasp 
by ;  having,  in  a  previous  work,  adduced  many  similar  ex 
amples. 

The  last  example  I  shall  adduce  from  Major  Moor's  book  is 
evidently  one  of 

Endemical  Disturbances. 

They  occurred,  says   Major    Moor,  "in  a  respectable  old 

manor-house,  in  the  north-eastern   part   of  shire,  which 

was,  in  very  early  times,  the  seat  of  a  family  of  distinction  in 
the  county." 

For  eighteen  years  past  this  house  had  been  occupied  by  a 
clergyman,  known  to  Major  Moor,  who  vouches  for  him  as  "  a 
gentleman  of  most  unimpeachable  veracity  and  of  deservedly 
high  estimation."  The  account  is  sent  to  the  Major  by  this 
clergyman  himself,  under  date  June  28,  1841. 

It  is  also  confirmed,  from  personal  observation,  by  a  nephew 
of  Major  Moor,  Captain  Frazer,  of  the  Royal  Artillery,  in  a 
letter  dated  July  19,  1841. 

About  the  year  1680  the  chief  part  of  the  ancient  mansion 
was  pulled  down  and  the  present  house  erected  on  the  spot. 
The  remaining  portion  of  the  old  house  was  allowed  to  standj 

*  Given  on  pagee  93  to  95  of  Beatings  Bdls. 


GIVEN  BY  ANOTHER  CLEEGYMAN.  327 

and,  separated  only  by  a  party-wall,  it  became  thenceforth  a 
farm-house,  occupied  by  the  tenant  of  the  adjoining  lands. 

The  estate  came  into  the  possession  of  the  present  owner's 
father  in  1818 ;  and,  at  that  time  the  house  had  the  reputation 
of  being  haunted  ;  many  tales  of  strange  sights  and  sounds  cir- 
culating through  the  neighborhood.  The  popular  belief  ascribed 
these  to  the  unblest  spirit  of  a  former  owner,  dead  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago. 

In  1823  the  clergyman  who  is  the  narrator  came  to  reside 
there.  Noises  were  often  heard,  but  the  family  referred  them, 
at  first,  to  the  occupants  of  the  back  portion  of  the  mansion, 
the  farm-house. 

In  1826,  however,  this  old  part  of  the  building  was  pulled 
down,  and  still  the  sounds  continued,  the  same  which  the  fam- 
\ly  had  heard  for  years,  and  which  have  been  heard,  almost 
nightly,  ever  since. 

These  disturbances  are  thus  described  in  the  clergyman's  let- 
ter:  "  In  the  dead  of  night,  usually  between  the  hours  of  twelve 
and  two,  when  every  member  of  the  family  is  in  bed  and  there 
is  no  imaginable  cause  to  be  assigned,  a  succession  of  heavy  and 
distinct  blows  are  heard,  as  of  some  weighty  instrument  upon  a 
hollow  wall  or  floor.  They  are  sometimes  so  loud  as  to  awaken 
one  from  sleep,  sometimes  scarcely  audible." 

On  one  occasion  they  burst  forth  with  such  violence  that  the 
clergyman,  accustomed  as  he  was  to  hear  and  disregard  them, 
sprang  out  of  bed  and  rushed  to  the  head  of  the  stairs  under  a 
conviction  that  the  outer  door  of  the  house  had  been  violently 
burst  in.  Another  night,  when  going  to  bed,  the  thumpings, 
as  violent,  were  continued  so  long  that  he  had  time  to  go  to  the 
back-door  of  the  house  and  sally  forth,  in  quest. 

On  yet  another  occasion,  the  sounds  having  long  continued 
as  if  coming  from  the  b.rew-house  or  the  cellar,  which  adjoined 
each  other,  the  clergyman  and  two  of  his  brothers  sat  up  and 
went  to  watch,  two  in  the  brew-house  and  one  in  the  cellar. 
Then  it  ceased  there,  but  was  heard,  by  those  in  the  brew-house, 
as  if  sounding  from  underneath  the  lawn,  fifty  yards  distant. 


328  THE   NIGHTLY   CARTER   IS 

Great  pains  were  taken,  the  clergyman  says,  to  discover  som« 
cause  for  these  noises,  but  quite  unavailingly.  A.  large  old 
drain  running  underneath  the  house  might,  it  was  thought,  b« 
connected  with  the  sounds.  It  was  thoroughly  examined,  a 
man  being  sent  through  it,  from  one  end  to  the  other ;  but  the 
noise  proceeded  as  before. 

"  After  above  twenty  years,"  says  the  reverend  writer,  "  we 
are  entirely  in  the  dark  as  ever.  The  length  of  time  it  has 
been  heard ;  the  fact  of  every  domestic  in  the  house  having 
been  often  changed  during  that  time  ;  and  the  pains  that  have 
been  taken  to  investigate  the  matter,  while  every  member  of 
the  house  except  the  watcher  was  in  bed — have  put  the  possi- 
hility  of  any  trick  out  of  the  question  y  and  have  convinced  all 
the  inmates  that  it  cannot  be  accounted  for  on  any  of  the  usual 
suppositions  of  *'  horses  in  the  stable  kicking,"  or  "  dogs  rap- 
ping with  their  tails,"  or  '*  rats  jumping  in  the  tanks  or  drains." 
Horses  stamp  and  dogs  rap  and  rats  gallop ;  but  they  do  not 
make  such  sounds  as  that  one  startling  and  peculiar  noise  with 
which  our  ears  are  so  familiar."  * 

Another  phase  of  the  phenomenon,  mentioned  both  by  the 
clergyman  and  by  Captain  Frazer,  was  of  a  singular  character. 
When  the  former  was  a  young  man,  retumiug  home  for  the 
holidays,  he  was  awoke,  one  night,  by  a  loud  noise,  as  if  a  cart, 
heavily  laden  with  iron  bars,  was  passing  slowly  along  the  path, 
under  his  windows.  He  threw  open  the  shutters  and  window ; 
it  was  bright  moonlight,  but  he  could  see  nothing,  though  the 
noise  continued  for  some  time.  When  he  mentioned  this  the 
next  morning,  he  was  laughed  at,  for  his  pains.  This  incident 
had  almost  faded  from  his  memory  when,  eleven  years  after- 
ward, it  was  very  strangely  recalled.  An  uncle  of  his,  visiting 
tlie  family,  was  put  to  sleep  in  the  same  room.  The  next 
morning,  at  breakfast,  this  gentleman  related  that  he  had  been 
awakened  in  the  night  by  the  clatter  of  a  cart,  as  if  laden  with 
iron,  drawn  over  the  gravel  walk  beneath  the  windf'w^  oi  his 

*  BeaUngs  Bells,  p.  115. 


NOT  AN  ISOLATED  EXAMPLE.  329 

room.  He,  too,  having  risen,  opened  the  window  to  investi 
gate,  but  nothing  could  he  see.  He  retired  to  bed,  thinking  it 
might  possibly  have  been  a  dream  and  lay  awake  for  half  an 
hour.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  heard,  a  second  time,  with 
unmistakable  distinctness,  the  same  sounds  of  a  loaded  cart, 
again  as  if  passing  before  the  house. 

"  Now,"  thought  he,  "  I'll  make  sure  of  it."  And,  certain 
that  he  could  discover  the  cause,  he  instantly  sprang  to  the  win- 
dow and  opened  it — again  to  be  thoroughly  mystified  and  dis- 
appointed.    Nothing  whatever  to  be  seen ! 

This  incident  is  certified  to  by  the  gentleman  in  question  in 
a  separate  certificate.*  Therein  he  states  that  it  occurred  dur- 
ing the  month  of  September,  1840,  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

Three  young  ladies,  residents  of  the  house,  certify  to  the  real- 
ity of  the  sounds,  f 

Captain  Frazer,  having  sat  up  one  night  with  his  host,  to 
witness  these  nightly  visitations,  thus  describes  the  noises  he 
heard : 

*'  It  was  as  if  some  one  was  striking  the  walls  with  a  hammer 
or  mallet,  muffled  in  flannel.     It  began  at  first  slowly,  with  a 

*  Work  quoted,  p.  123.  This  may  appear  too  whimsical  for  cre- 
dence. It  would  probably  so  seem  to  me  had  I  not  sufficient  proof  of 
analogous  occurrences.  A  young  lady,  intelligent  and  truthful,  men. 
ber  of  one  of  the  best-known  families  in  New  York  (but  I  am  not  au- 
thorized to  give  the  name),  told  me  recently  that  while  on  a  visit  of  a 
few  weeks  to  her  aimt's  country  house,  an  old  mansion  situated  in  the 
eastern  portion  of  that  State,  she  had,  more  than  once,  while  sitting  in 
the  drawing-room  in  broad  daylight,  heard  the  sound  of  a  carriage  and 
horses  on  the  gravel-drive,  as  if  approaching  the  main  entrance.  On 
going  to  the  front  Avindow,  \\'ith  one  or  other  of  her  cousins  and  seeing 
nothing  there,  they  would  say:  "  Oh,  it's  only  the  ghost-carriage :"  and 
so,  return  quietly  to  their  seats.  It  was,  they  told  her,  a  common  sound. 
A  similar  phenomenon  wUl  be  found  related  as  occurring  in  an  English 
park ;  the  fact  certified  as  well  by  the  lady  of  the  house  as  by  her  lady'f 
maid  and  by  her  butler,  in  Spicer's  Facts  and  FantoMes^  London 
1853 :  p.  90 ;  and  again  pp.  93,  94,  95. 

t  Beaiings  Beds,  pp.  123-125. 


330  OONFIBMA-TION   THEOUGH   CAPTAIN  FRAZEE. 

distinct  interval  between  each  blow;  then  became  more  rapid] 
afterward  followed  no  rule,  but  was  slew  or  rapid  as  if  caprice 
dictated.  The  noise  did  not  appear  always  to  come  from  the 
same  part  of  the  house.  Sometimes  it  was  heard  faintly,  as  at 
a  distance  ;  then  startlingly  near.  It  was  much  louder  than  1 
expected :  I  think  if  I  had  been  outside  of  the  house  I  should 
have  heard  it. 

"  I  spent  three  days  at House ;  and  heard  the  same 

noise  two  nights  out  of  the  three.  ...  It  seemed  as  if 
moving  about  the  house,  and  coming,  sometimes,  so  near  that  I 
expected  to  see  the  door  open  and  some  one  come  in.  .  .  . 
The  noise  generally  continued,  at  intervals,  for  about  two  hours. 
I  think  there  was  a  slight  interval  between  every  five  blows. 
But  there  was  not  any  regularity  in  the  striking  of  these  five 
blows,  and  it  was  only  at  first  that  there  was  any  regularity  in 
the  interval  between  them.  .  .  .  This  noise  usually  seemed 
to  me  to  become  loud  or  faint,  not  so  much  from  any  intensity 
of  the  blows,  as  from  a  change  of  distance  or  position.  And 
the  opinion  of  the  other  witnesses  bears  me  out  in  this  remark. 
.  .  .  I  tried,  in  vain,  to  form  even  a  probable  conjecture  as 
to  the  cause."  * 

The  reverend  gentleman  who  occupied  the  house  (designated 

by  Captain  Frazer  as  L )  related   to   him  the  result  of 

inquiries  made  by  the  family  in  regard  to  the  antecedents  of 
the  house,  as  follows : 

"It  appeared  from  some  of  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  the 

parish,  that  House  Lad  formerly  been  occupied  by  an 

eccentric  and  dubious  character,  Squire .     This  gentleman 

had,  in  his  younger  days,  travelled  much  on  the  Continent, 
had  visited  Italy  and  brought  home  an  Italian  valet — also  a 
character.  The  two  lived  in  seclusion ;  and  after  a  time  many 
reports  and  suspicions  got  abroad  respecting  them  and  the 
doings  at  the  Hall ;  though  nothing  definite  was  brought 
against  the  squire  except  that  he  was  a  great  miser.     At  lasi 

*  Bealinga  BeOs,  p.  129. 


CAN  WE   SET  ASIDE   SUCH   EVIDENOE?  331 

he  died  or  disappeared  (I  forget  which  L.  said),  and  shorth 
afterward  noises  began  to  be  heard  in  the  house.  The  con» 
mon  legend  was  that  he  had  been  bricked  up  by  his  Italian  ser 
vant,  between  the  walls  in  some  room  or  vault,  and  so  left  t<: 
perish.* 

This  disturbance  was  known  familiarly  in  the  family  as  "the 
ghost."  The  inconvenience  of  its  reputation,  the  clergyman 
said  to  Captain  Frazer,  had  been  great ;  at  times  they  had  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  servants  to  stay  in  the  house.  All  allusion 
to  the  subject  in  general  conversation  was  dropped  by  common 
consent,  f 

Here  let  me  beg,  of  any  earnest  reader  of  mine,  a  brief  hear- 
ing.    I  ask  him : 

Upon  what  rational  plea  can  you  set  aside  such  evidence  as 
this  of  ultramundane  agency?  I  say  nothing  of  the  legend, 
and  aver  nothing  as  to  the  identity  of  any  restless  spirit  caus- 
ing disturbance.  But  the  simple  yacte.^  under  what  tenable 
theory  can  you  explain  them  away  ? 

The  clergyman  did  not  give  his  name :  are  you  surprised  at 
that  ?  Are  you  sure  you  would  have  given  it  yourself,  under 
similar  circumstances,  thirty  years  ago  ?  Another  clergyman,  J 
who  gave  his  name,  opened,  about  that  time,  the  "  House  of 
Mystery,"  in  which  he  lived,  to  respectable  investigators.  Hia 
reward  was  to  find  his  motives  misinterpreted  and  his  character 
maligned :  that  was  not  encouraging. 

.Major  Moor  vouches  for  the  unnamed  clergyman  as  a  gentle- 
man highly  and  deservedly  esteemed  and  of  unimpeachable 
veracit}^ ;  and  the  Major's  nephew.  Captain  Frazer,  during  a 
visit  of  three  days  to  the  haimted  mansion,  finds  all  the  state- 
ments made  to  be  fully  borne  out  by  what  he  witnessed. 

If  you  reject  as  monstrous — and  I  think  you  will — the  sup- 
position that  these  three  gentlemen,  all  of  professional  standing 

*  Work  cited,  p.  129. 

f  The  story  is  given  in  detail  in  BeoMngs  BeUs,  pp.  112-133. 

X  The  Ecv.  John  Stewart.     See  preceding  page  325. 


332  A  M0NSTE0U8  supposmois". 

and  one  of  them  Fellow  of  an  eminent  Society,  should  have 
combined  to  palm  on  the  public,  without  conceivable  motive,  a 
tissue  of  lies,  then  what  theory  of  mundane  agency,  as  cause, 
have  you  left  ? 

That  it  was  a  trick  ? — that  they  were  imposed  upon  ?  Thai 
is  the  explanation  usually  set  up  to  explain  such  phenomena  ; 
and,  on  the  material  hypothesis,  there  seems  to  be  no  other. 

— A  trick  ?  You  will  find,  if  you  look  closely  at  the  matter, 
that  this  supposition  is  more  monstrous  than  the  first.  "  Al- 
most nightly,"  were  the  clei'gyman's  words,  and  for  twenty 
years.  "  Two  nights  out  of  three  "  Captain  Frazer  witnessed 
them ;  and  their  duration  was  about  two  hours  at  a  time.  Two 
nights  out  of  three  ■  for  twenty  years  is  nearly  five  thousand 
nights.  So  some  one,  prompted  by  mischief — or  by  malignity 
if  you  will — is  to  prowl  about  the  house,  hours  at  a  time,  for 
the  purpose  of  disturbing  the  family,  four  or  five  days  a  week 
throughout  half  a  life  time.  And  so  ponderous  are  the  blows 
he  strikes  that  they  may  be  heard  outside  the  house !  And  he 
is  to  move  about  the  house,  thus  pounding,  without  being  dis- 
covered for  twenty  years  together.  A  servant  to  do  this  ? 
Xo,  they  had  all  been  often  changed  during  the  time.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  family  ?  What !  annoy  themselves  and  frighten 
away  their  domestics,  and  raise  every  kind  of  unpleasant  rumor 
throughout  the  neighborhood  !  An  outsider  ?  But  why  mul- 
tiply absurdities  ? 

Yet  here  is  but  one  instalment  of  the  difficulties.  Twenty 
years  is  the  clergyman's  time  of  residence  only.  Go  twenty 
years  farther  back ;  and,  according  to  the  united  testimony  of 
aged  residents,  the  same  disturbances  still !  And  the  dwellers 
of  that  day  had  it  from  their  ancestors  that  the  haunting  began 
a  hundred  years  ago.  Are  there  centenarious  nightly-disturbers 
of  the  peace  of  private  families  ? 

I  pi-ay  you,  earnest  reader,  to  reflect  on  these  things,  and  to 
ask  yourself  whether  the  theory  of  intermundane  agency  is  so 
incredible  that  one  ought  to  resort  to  unheard-of  vagaries  in 
order  to  escape  it. 


THE   USE   OF   IT.  333 

At  this  stage  of  our  book-voyage  together,  soaie  reader  may 
think  that  an  observation  should  be  taken,  so  as  to  determina 
what  progi'ess,  up  to  this  point,  we  have  made.  He  may  grant, 
perhaps,  that  we  have  sufficient  proof  of  the  occasional  occur 
rence,  through  the  medium  of  bells  and  otherwise,  of  noise? 
which  we  cannot  rationally  ascribe  except  to  an  extramundane 
or  spiritual  cause ;  and  yet  he  may  ask  what  is  gained  by  such 
proofs  He  may  suggest  further  that  evidence  of  a  Hereafter — 
spiritual  revealings — should  be  intrinsically  solemn  and  rever- 
ent ;  not,  like  tinklings  of  bells  and  rappings  on  walls,  of  tri- 
fling or  whimsical  character. 

I  might  reply,  in  a  general  way,  that  nothing  in  all  the  works  ; 
of  Nature  around  us,  how  little  soever  appreciated  by  man,  is 
trifling  in  the  sight  of  Him  who 

"  Sees,  with  equal  eye,  as  God  of  all, 
A  hero  perish  or  a  sparrow  fall : 
Atoms,  or  systems,  into  miri  hurled, 
And  now  a  bubble  burst,  and  now  a  world." 

But,  aside  from  this  great  truth,  is  there  anything  very 
solemn  or  reverent,  to  the  common  mind,  in  the  fall,  from  its 
parent  tree,  of  an  apple  ?  An  infant  sees  it  and  claps  its  tiny  ■ 
hands;  an  uncultured  peasant  notes  it  as  evidence  that  his 
orchard-crop  is  ripening ;  but  to  a  Newton  it  suggests  the  law 
which  holds  planets  to  their  course  and  governs  half  the  natu- 
ral phenomena  that  occur  throughout  the  world. 

As  to  what  may  be  gained  by  proving  such  incidents  as  1 
this  chapter  records,  Southey,  speaking,  in  his  lAfe  of  'Wesley^  ! 
of  analogous  disturbances  in  Samuel  Wesley's  parsonage,*  and 
of  the  good  end  such  things  may  be  supposed  to  answer,  wisely  ' 
suggests  that  it  would  be  end  sufficient  if  sometimes  one  of  I 
those  unhappy  sceptics  who  see  nothing  beyord  the  narrow  j 
sphere  of  mortal  existence  should,  "  from  the  well-established  ■ 
truth  of  one  such  story,  trifling  and  objectless  as  it  might  other 
wise  appear/'  be  led  to  believe  in  immortality. 

»  Footfalls,  pp.  224-239. 


334  KNOCK   AND   IT   SHALL 

Let  us  go  a  step  farther.  There  is  not  habitual  intercorirse 
between  the  world  which  now  is  and  that  which  is  to  come :  it 
is  only  now  and  then  that  the  denizens  of  the  one  perceive 
those  of  the  other.  We  seem,  probably,  something  like  appari- 
tions to  the  immortals,  as  they,  when  they  revisit  earth,  to  us. 
But  no  one  who  ever  truly  loved  and  who  believes  in  another 
life,  can  doubt  that,  for  a  time,  the  better  class  of  those  who 
have  left  friends  and  kindred  here  still  cling  to  and  sympathize 
with  them.  We  have  abundant  evidence,  even  in  these  pages, 
that  tliey  often  earnestly  desire  to  convince  us,  past  possible 
denial,  of  their  continued  existence,  of  their  well-being,  and  of 
their  undying  love.  That  evidence  goes  to  show  that  they 
often  diligently  seek  communion,  sometimes  from  affection, 
sometimes  from  other  motives,  and  that  they  have  difficulties 
in  reaching  us :  difficulties  wisely  interposed,  no  doubt ;  for  if 
spiritual  intercourse  were  as  common  as  worldly  communion, 
who  would  be  willing  to  labor  and  to  wait  in  this  dim  and 
checkered  world  of  ours  ? 

They  seek,  from  time  to  time,  to  visit  us.  But,  coming  from 
their  world  of  spirits,  iQvisible  to  ordinary  sight,  inaudible  by 
ordinary  speech,  how  are  they  to  make  their  presence  known? 
How  are  they  to  attract  our  attention  ? 

In  what  manner  does  a  traveller,  arriving  under  cloud  of 
night,  before  a  fast-closed  mansion,  seek  to  reach  the  indwellerd 
— seek  to  announce  his  presence?  Is  it  not  by  Kjnocking  or 
Ringing  ? 

Are  we  sure  that  Scripture  texts  are  not  read  in  the  next 
world,  and  do  not  find  their  application  there  ?  Are  we  sure 
that,  to  the  earth-longings  of  love  immortal,  the  words  of  Jesus 
never  suggest  themselves :  "  Seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you." 

The  inhabitants  of  a  mansion  at  which  admission  is  sought, 
seeing  no  one  in  the  darkness,  may  at  first  not  heed  the  knock 
or  the  ring ;  and  the  pilgrim,  for  the  time,  may  turn  away, 
disappointed.  So  it  has  been,  probably,  in  thousands  of  cases, 
before  any  one  ventured   to   interrogate   the   sounds.      Men 


BE  OPENED  UNTO  TOU.  335 

e'.ther  doubted  whether  these  came  from  a  living  intelligence  ; 
or  they  feared  to  question  that  intelligence ;  or  they  despaired 
of  any  answer,  having  been  taught  that  though  there  had  been 
spirit-communion  in  ages  past,  it  was  impossible,  or  forbidden, 
to-day. 

So  it  may  have  been  in  the  cases  related  in  this  chapter.  In 
many,  possibly  in  all  the  cases  cited,  some  spirit  may  have  de- 
sired to  communicate  with  earth,  as  did  that  of  the  "  Repent- 
ant Housekeeper,"  whose  story  I  have  told  on  a  preceding 
page.*  But  if  so,  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  In 
early  days  the  witnesses  of  spiritual  appeals  were  as  that  multi- 
tude on  the  Galilean  shore  to  whom  Jesus  spoke,  from  the  ship, 
in  parables ;  and  of  whom  he  said,  "  Hearing  they  hear  not, 
neither  do  they  understand."  The  field  was  not  yet  white  to 
harvest.     The  time  had  not  come. 

I  have  a  few  more  words  to  say,  in  the  next  chapter,  toud^ 
ing  the  apparent  triviality  of  some  spiritual  manifestations. 

*  See  preceding  page  297. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Spieitual  Phenomena  sometimes  result  in  seeming  Tri* 

FLES. 

"  Nee  deus  intersit,  nisi  dignus  vindice  nodus 
Incident."  Horace. 

Horace,  in  his  advice  to  writers  of  plays,  assumes  that  it  is 
not  fitting  a  god  should  intervene,  unless  the  case  is  worthy  of  di- 
vine interference.  If  God  ever  did  directly  intervene — in  other 
words,  if  there  were  miracles — the  poet  would  be  in  the  right. 
But  what  have  been  interpreted  as  miracles  do  frequently  man- 
ifest themselves,  as  the  rainbow  does,  with  little  or  no  apparent 
use  or  benefit,  except  it  be,  like  the  bow  in  the  clouds,  to  in- 
spire hope  into  the  heart  of  man  :  a  sufficient  proof  that  they 
are  not,  any  more  than  the  rainbow,  interferences  of  God. 

This  is  true  even  of  the  highest  class  of  spiritual  phenom- 
ena ;  for  example,  of  apparitions.     Witness  the  story  of 

The  Earl  op  Buchan's  Butler. 

Thomas,  Lord  Erskine,  though  he  entered  the  legal  profes- 
sion comparatively  late  in  life,  was,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  present  century,  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments.  Elevated 
to  the  peerage  for  his  abilities,  and  Lord  Chancellor  under  the 
Grenville  administration,  his  character,  both  as  regards  up- 
rightness and  sagacity,  has  every  element  of  trustworthiness. 
He  died  in  1823. 

In  the  year  1811  and  on  the  Saturday  first  succeeding  the 
appointment  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  (afterward  George  IV.) 
as  Regent,  Lord  Erskine  and  the  Duchess  of  Gordon  called  (ju 
Lady  Morgan,  the  well-known  literary  celebrity. 

"  The  Duchess,"  says  Lady  Morgan,  "  related  a  very  curious 


337 

and  romantic  tale  of  second-sight  in  her  own  family,  which 
amused,  if  it  did  not  convert  me ;  while  the  affecting  manner 
in  which  it  was  told  left  no  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  the  narra 
tor."     Lady  Morgan  then  continues  thus : 

"  I  also,"  said  Lord  Erskine,  "  believe  in  second-sight,  be 
(;ause  I  have  been  its  subject.  When  T  was  a  very  young  man 
I  had  been,  for  some  time,  absent  from  Scotland.  On  the 
morning  of  my  arrival  in  Edinburgh,  as  I  was  descending  the 
steps  of  a  close  on  coming  out  from  a  bookseller's  shop,  I  met 
our  old  family  butler.  He  looked  greatly  changed,  pale,  wan, 
and  shadowy  as  a  ghost.  *  Eh !  old  boy,'  said  I,  *  what  brings 
you  here  ? '  He  replied :  *  To  meet  your  honor,  and  soKcit  your 
interference  with  my  Lord,*  to  recover  a  sum  due  to  me,  which 
the  steward,  at  the  last  settlement,  did  not  pay.' 

"  Struck  by  his  looks  and  manner,  I  bade  him  follow  me  to 
the  bookseller's,  into  whose  shop  I  stepped  back ;  but  when  7 
turned  round  to  speak  to  him,  he  had  vanished.  >^ 

*'  I  remembered  that  his  wife  carried  on  some  little  trade  in 
the  Old  Town.  I  remembered  even,  the  house  and  flat  she  oc- 
cupied, which  I  had  often  visited  in  my  boyhood.  Having 
made  it  out,  I  found  the  old  woman  in  widow's  mourning. 
Her  husband  had  been  dead  for  some  months,  and  had  told 
her,  on  his  death-bed,  that  my  father's  steward  had  wronged 
him  of  some  money,  and  that  when  Master  Tom  returned, 
he  would  see  her  righted. 

"  This  I  promised  to  do,  and  shortly  after  I  fulfilled  my 
promise.  The  impression  was  indelible  ;  and  I  am  extremely 
cautious  how  I  deny  the  possibility  of  such  supernatural  visit- 
ings  as  your  Grace  has  just  instanced  in  your  own  family."  f 

The  manner  in  which  the  talented  lady  who  relates  to  us  thLi 
story  sees  fit  to  receive  and  to  interpret  it,  should  be,  to  candid 
inquirers,  a  warning  lesson. 

Lady  Morgan,  following  the  dictates  of  that  persistent  seep- 


*  Lord  Erskine  was  a  younger  son  of  the  tentli  Earl  of  Buchan. 
f  Tlie  Book  of  the  Boudoir^  by  Lady  Morgan,  London,  1829 :  vol 
pp.  123-125.  J 


:) 


15. 


338  WHAT  REALLY   HAPPENED 

ticism  which  men  and  women  having  a  reputation  in  society 
are  wont  to  adopt,  or  to  assume ;  and  having  settled  it,  proba- 
bly, in  her  own  mind,  that  it  behooves  all  who  would  be  deemed 
enlightened  to  think,  or  at  least  to  speak,  of  a  belief  in  appari- 
tions as  a  superstition — is  content  to  set  down  Lord  Erskine's 
narrative  as  due — these  are  the  exact  words  she  uses — as  due 
only  to  the  "  dog-ears  and  folds  of  early  impression,  which  the 
strongest  minds  retain."  To  the  narrator,  however,  she  ascribes 
sincerity.  She  says,  "Either  Lord  Erskine  did,  or  did  not, 
believe  this  strange  story  :  if  he  did,  what  a  strange  aberration 
of  intellect! — if  he  did  not,  what  a  stranger  aben-ation  from 
truth !     My  opinion  is  that  he  did  believe  it." 

What  sort  of  mode  to  deal  with  alleged  facts  is  this  ?  A 
gentleman  distinguished  in  a  profession  of  which  the  eminent 
members  are  the  best  judges  of  evidence  in  the  world — a  gen- 
tleman whom  the  hearer  believes  to  be  truthful — relates  what, 
on  a  certain  day,  and  in  a  certain  place,  both  specified,  he  saw 
and  heard.  What  he  saw  was  the  appearance  of  one,  in  life 
well-known  to  him,  who  had  been  some  months  dead.  What 
he  heard  from  the  same  source  was  a  statement  in  regard  to 
matters  of  which  previously  he  had  known  nothing  whatever, 
which  statement,  on  after  inquiry,  he  learns  to  be  strictly  true; 
a  statement,  too,  which  had  occupied  and  interested  the  mind 
of  the  deceased  just  before  his  decease.  The  natural  inference 
from  these  facts,  if  they  are  admitted,  is  that,  under  certain 
circumstances  which  as  yet  we  may  be  unable  to  define,  those 
over  whom  the  death-change  has  passed,  still  interested  in  the 
concerns  of  earth,  may,  for  a  time  at  least,  retain  the  power  of 
occasional  interference  in  these  concerns;  for  example  in  an 
effort  to  right  an  injustice  done. 

But  rather  than  admit  such  an  inference — rather  than  accept 
disinterested  evidence  coming  from  a  witness  acknowledged  to 
be  sincere,  and  known  to  the  world  as  eminently  capable — a 
lady  of  the  world  assumes  to  explain  it  away  by  summarily 
referring  the  whole  to  the  "  dog-ears  and  folds  of  early  impres* 


ni!7LfiSS   IjOBD   EBSE3KB  LIED.  339 

Mou " !  What  human  testimony  cannot  be  set  aside  on  Jie 
same  vague  and  idle  assumption  ? 

It  is  time  we  should  learn  that  the  hypothesis  of  spiritual 
intervention  is  entitled  to  a  fair  trial ;  and  that,  in  conducting 
thai  trial,  we  have  no  right  to  disregard  the  ordinary  rules  of 
evidence. 

Either  Lord  Erskine,  one  morning  in  Edinburgh,  issuing 
from  a  bookseller's  shop,  met  what  wore  the  appearance  of  an 
old  family  servant  who  had  been  some  months  dead — or  else 
Lord  Erskine  lied.  Either  Lord  Erskine  heard  words  spoken 
as  if  that  appearance  had  spoken  them,  which  words  contained 
a  certain  allegation  touching  business  which  that  servant,  dying, 
had  left  unsettled — or  else  Lord  Erskine  lied.  Either  Lord 
Erskine  ascertained,  by  immediate  personal  interrogation  of  the 
widow,  that  her  husband,  on  his  death-bed,  had  made  the  self 
same  allegation  to  her  which  the  apparition  made  to  Lord  Er- 
skine— or  else  Lord  Erskine  lied.  Finally  either,  as  the  result 
of  this  appearance  and  its  speech,  a  debt  found  due  to  the 
person  whose  counterpart  it  was,  was  actually  paid  to  his  widow 
— or  efee  Lord  Erskine  lied. 

But  Lady  Morgan  expresses  her  conviction  that  Lord  Erskine 
did  not  lie. 

Li  itself  that  was  a  trifle.  Thousands  on  thousands  of  such 
cases  of  petty  injustice  occur  and  pass  away  unnoticed  and  un- 
redressed. To  the  widow  it  was,  undoubtedly,  of  serious  mo- 
ment ;  but  I  think  no  sensible  man  will  imagine  it  a  matter  to 
justify  the  direct  interference  of  God.  If  so,  and  if  Lord 
Erskine  spoke  truth,  an  apparition  is  a  natural  phenomenon. 

There  are  cases,  however,  where  the  triviality  of  result  from 
phenomena  that  are  clearly  of  a  spiritual  character  is  even  more 
apparent  than  in  the  preceding  example.     Here  is  one : 

Prediction  in  regard  to  a  mere  Trifle. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1853,  a  young  gentleman,  we' 
known  to  me,  whom  I  shall  designate  as  Mr.  X ,  who  is  not 


S40 

a  Spiritualist,  and  has  never  given  any  atten»ion  to  spiritna. 
pheaomena,  had  a  remarkable  dream.  He  was  then  engaged  in 
a  retail  store  in  Second  street,  Philadelphia;  and  his  droam 
was  to  the  effect  that,  the  next  day  at  twelve  o'clock,  he  would 
sell  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars'  worth  of  a  particular  kind  ol 
goods,  namely,  drap  d'ete  (summer  cloth),  to  a  customer ;  the 
particular  person,  however,  not  being  designated. 

Going  down  to  the  store  next  morning,  he  related  his  dream, 
between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  to  a  young  clerk  employed  in 
ihe  establishment.  "  Nonsense  !  "  was  the  reply ;  "  the  thing 
is  impossible.  You  know  very  well  that  we  don't  sell  so  large 
a  lot  of  drap  d'ete  to  one  customer  in  ten  years." 

Mr.  X assented  to  the  truth  of  this ;  and,  in  addition,  he 

called  to  mind  that,  according  to  his  dream,  it  was  he  himselt 
who  was  to  sell  it.  But  it  so  happened  that  it  was  not  he  who 
attended  at  the  counter  where  the  article  was  sold,  but  another : 
in  whose  absence,  however,  should  he  be  accidentally  called  off, 
Mr.  X was  wont  to  take  that  place. 

So  deep  was  the  impression  produced  by  the  dream  that,  as 

the  time  approached,  Mr.  X became  very  nervous  ;  and  his 

agitation  increased  when,  some  little  time  before  mid-day,  the 
salesman  referred  to  was  called  off,  and  Mr.  X had  to  sup- 
ply his  place. 

Almost  exactly  at  twelve  a   customer  entered,  approached 

the  counter  and  asked  for  drap  d'ete.     Mr.  X felt  himself 

turn  pale,  and  had  hardly  presence  of  mind  enough  left  to 
reach  down  the  package.  It  turned  out  that  the  article  was 
lequired  for  clothing  in  a  public  institution ;  and  the  amount 
purchased  amounted  either  to  a  hundred  and  forty-eight  dollars 

or  a  hundred  and  fifty-two  dollars ;  Mr.  X does  not  now 

recollect  which. 

The  above  was  related  to  me  *  by  Mr.  X ,  now  in  business 

for  himself  in  Philadelphia;  and  I  know  sufficient  of  that  gen- 
tleman's character  to  warrant  me  in  saying  that  the  particulars 

♦  In  PhHadelphia,  July  13,  1859. 

r 


VERY  UNEXPECTEDLY  MADE. 


3il 


here  given  may  be  confidently  relied  on  ;  and  that  Mr.  X 'a 

word  may  be  unhesitatingly  taken  when  he  assured  me,  as  he 
did  after  completing  the  story,  that  there  had  occurred  no  an- 
tecedent circumstance  whatever  which  could  give  him  the 
slightest  reason  to  imagine  that  any  one  would  apply  for  drap 
d'ete ;  or  that  there  was  the  most  remote  chance  of  his  effecting 
the  sale  in  question. 

In  this  case  the  minute  particulars  of  time,  place,  and  attend- 
ant circumstances — the  unforeseen  absence  of  the  usual  sales- 
man, the  specific  article  demanded,  the  unusual  quantity  so 
closely  approaching  the  amount  actually  sold — are  such  thai 
we  are  compelled  to  reject  the  idea  of  chance  coincidence. 

In  the  Erskine  case  one  can  comprehend  the  motive  that  re- 
called the  departed  spirit ;  the  same  which  operates  in  the 
majority  of  such  cases — attraction  through  the  affections  :  here 
displayed  in  humble  fashion,  indeed — in  anxiety  that  the 
**  auld  gude-wife,"  as  a  Scotch  domestic  of  those  days  would 
be  likely  to  phrase  it,  should,  in  her  poverty  and  widowhood, 
have  her  own — yet  none  the  less  a  phase  of  the  longings  of  true 
love. 

But  in  the  Philadelphia  case  one  can  imagine  no  attracting 
motive  whatever ;  seeing  that  the  predicted  sale,  to  a  particu- 
lar amount  and  at  a  particular  hour  and  day,  was  of  no  conse- 
quence to  any  human  being,  except  only  as  proof  that,  wken 
Paul  enumerated  among  the  gifts  common  in  the  early  Chris- 
tian Church,  the  gift  of  prophecy,  he  was  speaking  of  a  ph& 
nomenon  which  actually  exists  and  which  is  not  miraculous. 


BOOK   III. 

PHYSICAL  MANIFESTATIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  SPIRIT-RAP. 


^ 


1 


It  is  n(  fc  a  difliciilt  thing,  if  one  has  time  and  patience  aad 
fui  honest  love  of  truth,  to  satisfy  one's  self,  past  all  possible  per- 
adventure,  that  what  is  called  the  spirit-rap  is,  like  the  electric 
spark,  a  genuine  phenomenon,  with  momentous  sequences. 
""And  these  strange  echoes  may  be  as  surely  referred  to  agencies 
from  another  sphere  as  the  spark  from  the  Ley  den  jar  may  be 
identified  with  the  lightning  from  the  thunder-cloud.  Thej 
occur,  like  that  mysterious  spark,  under  certain  conditions  ; 
but  they  cannot,  as  it  can,  be  called  forth  with  certainty  at  any 
moment ;  for,  being  spiritual  in  their  origin'  they  are  not  at 
the  beck  and  call  of  man. 

The  conditions  under  which  they  present  themselves  are 
sometimes  of  a  personal,  sometimes  of  an  endemical  character 
They  occur  more  frequently  and  more  persistently  in  certain  lo- 
calities than  in  others,  and  they  are  heard  much  more  frequently 
in  the  presence  of  some  persons,  called  mediums  or  sensitives, 
than  of  others.  They  are  usually  most  loud  and  powerful 
where  the  two  conditions,  personal  and  local,  are  found  com- 
bined. 

[I  have  heard  them  as  delicate,  tiny  tickings,  and  as  thun- 
dering poundings.     I  have  heard  them  not  only  throughout 


LEAH   A^D   KATE  FOX.  343 

cur  o^9n  land,  but  in  foreign  countries ;  as  in  England,  France.  \ 
Italy.     I  liave  heard  them  in  broad  daylight  and  in  darkened     \ 
rooms  ;  usually  most  violent  in  the  latter.     I  have  heard  them      i    j 
in  my  own  house  and  in  a  hundred  others ;  out  of  doors  ;  ai      I 
B'^a  and  on  land  ;  in  steamer  and  in  sail-boat ;   in  the  forest  and  y 
on  the  rooks  of  the  sea-shore. . 

But  in  no  circumstances  have  I  witnessed  this  wonderful 
phenomenon  under  such  varied  conditions,  and  with  such  satis- 
factory results,  as  in  the  presence  of  two  members  of  that  fam-     \ 
ily,  in  whose  dwelling  in  Western  New  York,  it  originally     I 
showed  itself — namely,  the  eldest  and  the  youngest  daughters     | 
of  Mrs.  Fox.*     The  faculty  of  mediumship,  or  as  it  might 
otherwise  be  expressed,  the  gift  of  spiritual  sensitiveness,  was 
hereditary  in  the  family,  f     In  Leah  Fox  (Mrs.  Underbill) 
and  in  Kate  Fox  I  have  found  the  manifestations  of  this  power, 
or  gift,  in  connection  with  the  spirit-rap,  more  marked  and 
more  readily  to  be  obtained,  than  in  any  other  persons  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted,  either  here  or  in  Europe. 

And  it  is  due  to  these  ladies  and  to  Mr.  XJnderhill  to  say 
that  they  have  kindly  afforded  me  at  all  times  every  facility  I 
could  desire  to  test  these  and  other  spiritual  phenomena  under 
the  strictest  precautions  against  deception  :  well  knowing  that 
I  took  these  for  the  sake  of  others  rather  than  to  remove  doubts 
of  my  own.  Nor,  in  all  my  intercourse  with  them,  have  I 
ever  seen  the  slightest  cause  for  believing  that  they  were  ac 
tuated  by  other  motive  than  a  frank  wish  that  the  truth  should 
be  ascertained  .and  acknowledged. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  in  which  I  published  "  Foot- 
falls," I  accepted  from  Mr.  Underbill  J  an  invitation  to  spend 
a  week  or  two  at  his  house :  thus  obtaining  ample  opportunity 
to  investigate  this  and  cognate  manifestations. 

*  For  particulars  of  the  disturbances  ia  the  Fox  family,  especially  | 
OB  March  31,  1848,  and  succeeding  days,  see  FootfaUs,  pp.  287-298.        / 

t  Footfalls,  pp.  284,  285.  .       ^r. 

I  Daniel  Underbill,  President  of  an  old-established  Insurance  Com  \     ^  y 
pany  in  Wall  street,  New  York.  J    ^'l 


344  THE  EAPPING8   TESTED. 

One  of  my  first  experiments  was  to  pray  Mrs.  UnderliiJl  t<» 
accompany  me  over  the  house,  in  quest  of  rappings.  Begin 
ning  in  the  lower  parlors,  I  asked  if  we  could  have  raps  on 
the  floor,  then  from-  the  walls,  then  from  the  ceiling,  then  on 
various  articles  of  furniture.  In  each  case  the  response  was 
prompt,  and  the  raps  loud  enough  to  be  heard  in  the  next 
room.  Then  I  asked  for  them  on  the  steel  gi-ate  and  on  the 
marble  mantle-piece.  Thence  they  sounded  quite  distinctly, 
but  less  sharply — with  a  duller  sound — than  before.  Then, 
setting  open  one  of  the  doors  into  the  passage,  placing  myself  so 
that  I  could  see  both  sides  of  it  and  putting  my  hand  on  one 
of  its  jianels,  I  begged  Mrs.  Underbill  to  stand  a  few  feet  from 
it  and,  reaching  out  one  of  her  arms,  to  touch  it  with  the  tips 
of  her  fingers.  Within  two  or  three  seconds  after  she  had 
done  so,  there  were  raps  on  the  door  as  loud  as  if  some  one  had 
knocked  on  it  sharply  with  his  knuckles ;  and  the  wood  vi- 
brated quite  sensibly  under  my  touch,  as  if  struck  by  a  pretty 
strong  blow.* 

When  we  passed  out  into  the  corridor  and  up  the  stairway, 
it  was  no  longer  necessary  to  request  rappings.  They  sounded 
under  our  feet  as  we  went ;  on  the  steps  and  then  from  the 
hand-rail,  as  we  ascended  ;  from  various  parts  of  a  sitting-room 
and  of  other  apartments  on  the^  second  floor  :  then,  again,  on 
the  stairs  leading  to  the  third  story  and  in  every  chamber  there. 
It  was  evident  that,  in  Mrs.  Underhill's  presence,  they  could 
be  had  from  any  spot  in  the  house.  I  found,  too,  that  if  I  re- 
quested to  have  any  particular  number  of  raps,  they  were  given 
with  unfailing  precision. 

The  sounds  were  peculiar.  I  could  not  imitate  them  with 
the  hammer,  nor  with  the  knuckle  on  wood,  nor  in  any  other 
way.     They  seemed  more  or  less  muffled. 

I  have  repeated  similar  experiments  several  times  with  Mrs. 

*  Some  time  afterward  I  repeated  the  same  experiment  at  the  honse 

of  Mrs.  C ,  sister  of  one  of  the  best  known  among  the  New  York 

editors,  where  I  accidentally  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill,  and  wher« 
conversation  happened  to  turn  on  the  raps. 


THE   SPIEIT-EAP  ON   WATER  AND  IN  TREES.  345 

Underhill  and  with  her  sister  Kate,  in  various  places,  and  al> 
ways  with  the  same  result.  "With  other  mediums  the  responses 
were  more  or  less  prompt ;  and  sometimes  they  were  confined 
to  the  table  at  which  we  were  sitting. 

Passing  by,  for  the  moment,  the  hundreds  of  proofs  which 
teach  that  an  occult  intelligence  governs  the  spirit-rap  anp 
speaks  through  it,  I  keep  to  the  physical  aspect  of  the  phe- 
nomenon. 

On  the  Water  asd  in  the  Living  "Wood. 

On  the  tenth  of  July,  1861,  I  joined  a  few  friends  in  an  ex- 
cursion from  the  city  of  New  York,  by  steamboat,  to  the  High- 
lands of  Neversink;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill  being  of  the 
party. 

]t  occurred  to  me,  while  sitting  on  deck  by  Mrs.  Underhill, 
to  ask  if  we  could  have  the  raps  there.  Instantly  they  were 
distinctly  heard  first,  from  the  deck ;  then  I  heard  them,  and 
quite  plainly  yb^i  them,  on  the  wooden  stool  on  which  I  sat. 

In  the  afternoon  our  party  went  out  in  a  sailing-boat,  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet  long.  There,  again  at  my  suggestion,  we  had 
them,  sounding  from  under  the  floor  of  the  boat.  It  had  a 
centre-board,  or  sliding  keel,  and  we  had  raps  from  within  the 
long,  narrow  box  that  inclosed  it.  At  any  part  of  this  box 
where  we  called  for  the  raps,  we  obtained  them. 

In  the  evening  we  ascended  a  hill,  back  of  the  hotel,  to  the 
light-house.  In  returning  and  passing  through  a  wood  on  the 
hill-side,  I  proposed  to  try  if  we  could  have  raps  from  the 
ground :  and  immediately  I  plainly  heard  them  from  beneath 
the  ground  on  which  we  trod  :  it  was  a  dull  sound^  a,u  of  blows 
struck  on  the  earth.  Then  I  asked  Mrs.  UnderLxU  to  touch 
one  of  the  trees  with  the  tips  of  her  fingers,  and,  {rpplying  my 
ear  to  the  tree,  I  heard  the  raps  from  beneath  the  bark.  Other 
persons  of  our  party  verified  this,  as  I  had  done. 

In  returning,  next  morning,  on  another  steamer,  w(  l^id  raps 
on  the  hand-rail  of  the  upper  promenade  deck,  soa^  »lso 
15* 


346  A   FINAL   TEST   OBTAINED 

from  within  a  small  metal  boat  that  was  turned  upside  down, 
on  the  deck  below.  * 

The  next  experiment  was  one  which  I  imagine  that  no  one 
but  myself  ever  thought  of  trying. 

Moving  a  Ledge  of  Rock  on  the  Sea-shohe. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  1861,  I  accepted  an  invita 

tion  from  Mr.  S U ,  of  New  Rochelle,  a  sea-side  village 

on  the  western  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound,  to  spend  the  next 
day  with  him,  in  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  LTnderhill. 

On  the  afternoon  of  August  25,  Mr.  U drove  us  out  in 

his  carriage,  through  the  picturesque  country  adjoining  thr> 

village  ;  the  party  consisting  of  Mr.  TJ and  his  wife,  Mrs 

Underbill,  and  myself. 

Li  the  course  of  the  drive,  coming  near  the  shore  of  tho 
Sound,  at  a  point  whert-  there  were  long  ledges  of  rock  slanting 
down  into  the  water,  it  suddenly  suggested  itself  to  me  that 
here  was  an  excellent  opportunity  for  a  crucial  test.  I  inquired 
of  Mrs.  Underbill  if  she  had  ever  tried  to  obtain  raps  on  the 
sea-shore.     No,  she  said ;  she  never  had. 

"  Do  you  think  we  can  get  them  here  ?  "  I  asked. 

"I  have  never  found  any  place  where  they  could  not  be 
had,"  she  replied ;  "  so  I  dare  say  we  can." 

Thereupon  there  were  three  raps — the  conventional  sign  of 
assent — from  the  bottom  of  the  carriage. 

So  we  drove  down  to  the  beach,  and  got  out  to  test  the  mat- 
ter. 

The  portion  of  rock  whither  we  repaired  was  not  an  isolated 
block,  detached  from  the  rest,  but  part  of  a  large,  flat  mass  of 
rock,  covering  at  least  half  an  acre  and  running  back  into  a 
bluff  bank  t  lat  rose  beyond  it :  there  were  also  several  under- 

*  Notes  of  these  experiments  were  taken,  immediately  on  my  retain 
to  Newr  York. 


ON   THE   BEA-SHOBK  347 

lying  ledges.  We  were  about  thirty  feet  from  the  sea  and,  aa 
there  was  a  moderate  breeze,  the  surf  broke  on  the  rocks  below 
us. 

But  yet,  standing  on  the  ledge  beside  Mrs.  Underhill,  and 
asking  for  the  raps,  I  heard  them  quite  distinctly  above  the 
noise  produced  by  the  surf.  This  tn  as  several  times  repeated, 
with  the  same  result. 

Then  Mrs.  Underhill  and  Mrs.  S U sat  down,  and  I, 

stepping  on  a  lower  ledge,  laid  my  ear  on  the  ledge  on  which 
the  ladies  were  sitting  and  repeated  my  request.  In  a  few 
seconds  the  raps  were  heard  by  me  from  within  the  substance 
of  the  rock  and  immediately  beneath  my  ear. 

I  then  sought  to  verify  the  matter  by  the  sense  of  touch. 
Placing  my  hand  on  the  same  ledge,  a  few  feet  from  Mrs.  Un- 
derhill, and  asking  for  the  raps,  when  these  came  audibly,  I 
felt,  simultaneously  with  each  rap,  a  slight  but  unmistakably 
distinct  vibration  or  concussion  of  the  rock.  It  was  sufficiently 
marked  to  indicate  to  me  a  rap,  once  or  twice,  when  a  louder 
roll  of  the  surge  for  a  moment  drowned  the  sound. 

Without  making  any  remark  as  to  what  I  had  felt,  I  asked 
Mr.  U to  put  his  hand  on  the  ledge.  "  Why !  "  he  sud- 
denly exclaimed,  "  the  whole  rock  vibrates  !  " 

During  all  this  time  Mrs.  Underhill  sat,  as  far  as  I  could 
judge,  in  complete  repose. 

It  will  be  observed  that  it  was  at  my  suggestion  this  experi- 
ment on  a  plateau  of  rock  was  tried.  From  that  day  forth  I 
did  not  consider  it  necessary  further  to  test  the  spirit-rap.* 

It  is  true,  however,  that  there  were,  to  dispel  my  scepticism, 
other  proofs  (one  obtained  more  than  a  year  before  this),  and 
to  which  I  have  not  yet  alluded.  In  the  above  there  was  ap- 
peal to  two  senses — of  hearing  and  of  touch.  The  previous 
proofs  to  which  I  allude  were  evidenced  by  a  third  sense, 
usually  considered  the  most  trustworthy  of  all. 

*  Written  out  from  notes  taken  the  same  day. 


j 


^ 


348  THE   ILLUMINATED   HAMMER. 


Seeing  the  Raps. 

It  was  during  an  evening  session  at  Mr.  UnderhilPs,  Fel)- 
ruary  22,  1860.  Besides  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill,  Kata 
Fox,  and  myself,  there  were  present  Mr.  TJnderhill's  aged 
father  and  mother ;  venerable  examples  of  the  plain,  primitive 
Quaker,  both  of  whom  took  the  deepest  interest  in  the  proceed 
ings. 

By  request,  through  the  raps,  the  gas  was  extinguished  and 
we  joined  hands. 

Very  soon  lights  were  seen  floating  about  the  room,  appar 
ently  phosphorescent.  At  first  they  were  small,  just  visible; 
but  gradually  they  became  larger,  attaining  the  size  and  general 
outline  of  hands:  but  I  could  not  distinguish  any  fingers. 
These  lights  usually  showed  themselves  first  behind  and  be- 
tween Leah  and  Kate,  near  the  floor.  Then  they  rose  ;  some- 
times remaining  near  Leah's  head,  sometimes  near  her  sister's. 
One  of  them  was  nearly  as  large  as  a  human  head.  None  of 
these  touched  me,  though  one  approached  within  a  few  inches. 
Another  made  circles  in  the  air,  just  above  our  heads.  After 
floating  about  for  a  brief  space,  they  usually  seemed  to  return 
either  to  Leah  or  to  Kate. 

While  the  hands  of  the  circle  remained  joined,  I  looked 
under  the  table  and  saw  lights,  as  many  as  ten  or  twelve  times, 
on  or  near  the  floor,  and  moving  about.  Once  while  I  was 
looking  intently  at  such  a  light,  about  as  large  as  a  small  fist,  it 
rose  and  fell,  as  a  hammer  would,  with  which  one  was  striking 
against  the  floor.  At  each  stroke  a  loud  rap  was  heard,  in 
connection.  It  was  exactly  as  if  an  invisible  hand  held  an  il- 
Iv/minated  Jiammer  and  pounded  with  it. 

Then,  desiring  conscious  proof  that  what  I  saw  was  not  by 
human   agency,  I  asked  mentally :  *  "  Will  the  spirit  strike 

*  I  have  found  it  necessary,  in  making  a  mental  request,  or  asking  a 
mental  question,  to  concentrate  my  thoughts,  by  an  effort,  on  what  3 
wish  to  obtain  or  to  inquire. 


ANOTHER  TEST.  349 

with  that  light  three  times  ?  "  which  was  done  forthwith :  and 
then,  after  an  interval,  repeated. 

When,  a  second  time,  the  light  was  seen  and  I  was.  noticing 
the  corresponding  sounds,  some  one  said :  "  Can  you  make  it 
softer  ?  "  Almost  instantly  I  saw  the  light  diminish  and  strike 
tlie  ground,  at  intervals,  vv^ith  a  soft  and  muffled  sound,  jusf 
distinguishable  * 

On  another  occasion,  during  the  summer  of  the  next  year,  1 
obtained  still  more  remarkable  manifestations. 

Touched  by  the  Agency  that  Causes  the  Spirit-rap. 

On  the  evening  of  the  twelfth  of  June,  1861,  having  two 
days  before  arrived  in  New  York  as  Commissioner  to  purchase 
arms  for  the  State  of  Indiana,  I  called,  unexpectedly  to  tho 
family,  on  Mr.  Underbill  and  proposed  that  we  should  have  a 
spiritual  session.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underbill,  who  knew  that  I 
had  already  begun  to  collect  materials  for  this  volume,  readily 
assented,  f 

For  greater  quiet  we  ascended  to  a  parlor  on  the  second 
floor;  the  party  consisting  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underbill,  Mr. 
Gilbei-t,  an  aged  gentleman  and  old  friend  of  the  family  who 
happened  to  call  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  and  myself. 

Soon  after  we  sat  down  there  was  spelled  out,  by  raps  on  the 
floor  :  "  Go  in  back  room."  This  back  room  was  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Underbill's  bed-chamber.  Adjourning  to  it  we  sat  down  to  a 
small  rectangular  table  (one  of  a  nest  of  tables),  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Underbill  on  my  left  and  Mr.  Gilbert  on  my  right.  The  small 
size  of  the  table  brought  us  close  together. 

*  From  notes  taken  next  morning',  February  23. 

f  To  those  who  know  Mr.  Underbill's  family,  I  need  hardly  say  that 
they  never  accept  any  remuneration,  directly  or  indirectly,  on  such  oc- 
casions. Nor  has  Kate  Fox,  knowing  the  work  I  was  engaged  in,  evei 
been  willing  to  take  payment  from  me  for  any  sitting  with  her.  "  You 
have  a  better  chance  to  get  the  highest  manifestations  '  without  monej 
and  without  price,'  "  she  said  to  me  one  day. 


350  A  FLOATING   PHOSPHORESCENT  LIGHT 

To  this  bedroom  there  were  three  doors ;  one  opening  into  a 
bath-room,  a  second  on  the  second-floor  corridor,  and  a  third 
on  a  passage  leading  into  the  parlor,  which  we  had  first  selected 
to  sit  in.     In  this  passage  were  several  closets  and  presses. 

At  Mr.  Underhill's  suggestion,  before  sitting  down  I  thor 
oughly  examined  these  closets  and  presses,  as  well  as  the  bed- 
room itself  and  the  parlor  to  which  the  passage  led.  I  also 
locked  the  outer  door  of  that  parlor  and  the  doors  of  the  bed- 
room leading  into  the  bath-room  and  the  corridor.  The  door 
between  the  parlor  and  bedroom  did  not  lock  ;  but  by  the  pre* 
ceding  precautions  no  one  from  without,  even  if  provided  with 
a  key,  could  enter  either  of  the  rooms. 

Soon  after  we  sat  down  there  was  spelled  out,  "  Darken." 
We  extinguished  the  gas.  Then  was  spelled,  ''  Sing."  While 
Mrs.  Underbill  sang,  the  raps,  from  different  parts  of  the  floor, 
kept  time.  After  a  brief  interval  they  shifted  from  the  floor 
to  a  lower  bar  of  the  chair  on  which  I  sat,  still  keeping  time 
fco  the  measure.  The  chair  was  sensibly  jarred — a  vibration  to 
each  rap. 

After  sitting  about  six  or  seven  minutes,  there  appeared, 
floating  above  our  heads,  a  light  which  seemed  phosphorescent. 
It  was  rectangular  in  shape,  and  about  three  or  four  inches 
long.  After  a  time  it  rose  to  the  ceiling,  floating  backward 
and  forward  from  one  part  of  the  room  to  another.  At  times 
it  descended  till  only  a  foot  or  two  above  our  heads  ;  moving 
slowly  from  side  to  side,  over  our  circle. 

As  I  was  looking  intently  at  it,  there  was  spelled  oul^  by 
delicate  raps  on  the  floor :  "  I  was  near  you  in  early  life,  dear 
Robert,  and  am  still  nearer  to  you  now." 

Mrs.  UnderhUL     "  Is  it  Mr.  Owen's  mother  ?  " 

Ansiver  (by  the  raps).     "  No." 

Myself.     "  Does  the  first  name  begin  with  C  ?  " 

Answer.     "  Yes." 

Mrs.  UnderhUl.     "  How  many  letters  in  the  name  ?  " 

Answer.     "  Seven." 

Mrs.  UnderhUl.     "  Caroline,  is  it  ?  " 


EuiPS   ON   A   DOOE.  351 

Myself.  **  Caroline  has  eight  letters.  Is  it  another  name 
tinder  which  I  have  had  many  communications  ?  " 

By  the  raps.     "  Yes,  yes." 

Then  the  light  floated  toward  me  and  remained  stationary^ 
back  of  my  left  shoulder.  I  turned  and  looked  fixedly  at  it. 
It  appeared  to  be  about  the  size  of  a  small  human  hand,  and  as 
if  covered  with  a  shining  veil.  I  could  not,  however,  distin 
guish  a  defined  outKne. 

Presently  it  approached  my  left  shoulder,  then  receded  from 
it,  five  or  six  times.  Each  time  I  felt  a  light  touch,  as  of  fin- 
gers on  my  shoulder;  each  touch  exactly  contemporaneous 
with  the  motion  of  the  light. 

Then  it  floated  away,  rising  just  above  the  table  at  which  we 
were  sitting,  nearly  to  the  ceiling.  I  asked  that  it  would  pass 
to  the  door  leading  into  the  corridor  and  rap  there,  if  it  could. 
Thereupon  we  saw  it  pass  to  the  upper  part  of  the  door  in 
question,  and  perceived  its  motion,  and  heard  the  correspond- 
ing rap,  as  it  struck  it,  eight  or  ten  times  in  succession.  It 
was  evident,  too,  that  it  was  not  we  alone  who  heard  the 
sounds ;  for  a  lap-dog,  outside  in  the  corridor,  barked,  as  if 
alarmed.  Again,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  the  idea  that  sug- 
gested itself  to  me  was  that  of  a  luminous  hammer. 

Then  the  light  floated  down  to  Mr.  Underhill,  increasing  in  \ 
brightness,  and  seeming  to  touch  him.  He  said  it  did  touch  \ 
him,  as  if  with  some  fine,  soft,  woven  stuflf. 

I  asked  that  it  would  touch  my  hand.  It  moved  slowly  / 
across  the  table,  rested  for  a  brief  space  above  my  hand,  then  j 
chopped  and  touched  my  wrist.  The  feeling  was  like  that  from  \ 
the  gentle  touch  of  a  finger. 

Mr.  Gilbert  (to  me).  Are  you  not  tempted  to  grasp  it,  so 
as  to  feel  what  it  is  like  ? 

Myself.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  one  is  not  justified 
in  doing  so ;  and  for  that  reason  I  refrain. 

J3y  tlie  raps.     Thank  you  * 

*  Two  highly-intelligent  friends  of  mine,  now  deceased,  Dr.  A.  D. 
Wilson  and  Professor  James  Mapes,  both  formerly  of  New  York,  eaob 


352  SPIBIT- HANDS   MELTING   AWAY. 

Then  the  light  passed  to  Mrs.  Underhill,  touching,  as  she 
stated,  h(}r  head  and  neck. 

I  asked  that  it  would  touch  my  head  also.  It  floated  from 
her  to  me,  passing  behind  me  ;  and  I  felt  as  if  a  soft  and  fine 
piece  of  gauze,  gathered  up  loosely  in  the  hand,  were  pressed 
gently  against  the  back  of  my  head  and  neck.  Also,  now  and 
then,  it  seemed  as  if  some  more  solid  sabstance — part  of  a 
hand  holding  the  gauze,  was  the  impression  I  got — touched  me 
lightly.  The  action  was  as  if  by  a  person  standing  directly 
behind  me ;  yet,  had  I  not  seen  it,  a  few  minutes  before,  cross 
the  table  and  touch  my  wrist  before  my  very  eyes  ?  Besides, 
as  the  touchings  on  my  head  and  neck  continued  for  some  time, 
I  several  times  spoke  of  them  during  their  continuance  and  all 
present  joined  in  the  conversation.  Thus  I  am  certain  that 
they  were  still  seated  at  their  places. 

Then  the  light  rose  again  into  the  air.  Looking  closely  at  it, 
as  it  floated  near  the  ceiling,  I  observed  that  there  moved  across 
the  luminous  body,  back  and  forth,  dark  lines,  or  rods,  as  thick 
as  a  finger.  I  could  not,  however,  make  out  the  form  of 
fingers.     Mr.  Underhill  said  he  saw  fingers  distinctly. 

While  the  light  was  floating  above  us  there  proceeded  from 
it  occasionally  a  slight  crepitation. 

There  was  not,  throughout  this  sitting,  the  slightest  indica- 
tion, by  footfall,  rustle  of  dress,  or  otherwise,  of  any  one  ris- 
ing or  moving  about  the  room.  When  the  luminous  body  I 
have  been  describing  came  near  either  of  the  assistants  I  could 


on  one  occasion,  firmly  grasped  what  seemed  a  luminous  hand,  appear- 
ing- as  above.  In  both  cases  the  result  was  the  same.  What  was  laid 
hold  of  melted  entirely  away — so  each  fold  me — ^in  his  grasp.  I  have 
had  communications  to  the  effect  that  the  spirit  thus  manifesting  its 
presence  suffers  when  this  is  done,  and  that  a  spirit  would  have  great 
reluctance  in  appearing,  in  bodily  form,  to  any  one  whom  it  could  not 
trust  to  refraia  from  interference  with  the  phenomena,  except  by  ita 
express  permission.  In  my  experiments  I  have  always  goveri^ed  my 
eelf  accordingly ;  and  I  ascribe  my  success  in  part  to  this  continence. 


THE  IN»-KEEPEB  OF  ALEXANDRIA.  353 

dimly  peroeive,  by  its  light,  the  outline  of  the  person  it  ap 
proached.  * 

Sometimes  when  spirits  that  have  exhibited,  while  on  earth, 
a  violent  character,  seek  to  conmiunicate,  the  raps  are  of  cor 
responding  violence. 

Heavy  Poundings  by  a  Homicide. 

At  an  evening  session,  August  17,  1861,  at  Mr.  Underbill's  f 
(by  bright  gas-light),  we  heard,  after  a  time,  not  the  usual  mod- 
erate raps,  but  instead  loud  thumpiogs  or  poundings,  such  as 
might  be  produced  by  blows  dealt  on  the  floor  by  a  ten-pound 
mallet.  By  these  we  had  spelling,  on  calUng  the  alphabet. 
Inquii-ing  the  pounder's  name,  there  was  spelled  out,  "  Jack- 
son." 

I  inquired  if  the  spirit  had  formerly  lived  in  Indiana,  where 
I  had  known  a  man  of  that  name.  Answer,  by  a  single  thump, 
"No!" 

Then  we  asked  if  it  was  a  person  known  to  any  of  us.  An- 
swer :  "  The  man  you  do  not  admire." 

Thereupon  it  occurred  to  me  that  it  might  possibly  be  Jack-r 
son,  the  innkeeper  of  Alexandria,  at  whose  hands,  some  two 
months  before.  Colonel  Ellsworth,  having  taken  down  the  Con- 
federate flag  from  the  roof  of  Jackson's  inn,  had  met  his  death. 
As  soon  as  I  suggested  this,  there  was  an  affirmative  reply,  by 
three  sonorous  poundings. 

We  spoke  of  Ellsworth  and,  by  the  poundings,  was  spelled 
out :  "  His  manner  tantalized  me." 

Mrs.  Underbill  said  :  "  I  pitied  that  man ;  no  doubt  he  did 
what  he  thought  right."  Reply,  by  the  poundings:  "I  de- 
fended the  flag." 

*  I  took  notes  of  the  phenomena  as  they  presented  themselves ;  writ- 
ing with  pencil  in  tiie  dark. 

f  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill  and  myself  wei^  the  only  sitters;  and  I 
took  notes  of  this  sitting  at  the  time. 


354  BLOWS  OF  A  VIOLENCE 

He  then  said,  further,  that  he  had  once  visited  one  of  Mra 
Underhill's  circles  J"  and  that  there  were  in  the  Southern  States 
many  believers  in  spiritual  phenomena. 

I  found,  by  experiment,  that  when  these  poundings  occurred 
on  the  second  floor,  I  could  hear  them,  as  distinctly  as  if  a 
mechanic  were  at  work,  both  on  the  first  floor,  below,  and  on 
the  third  floor,  above.  They  caused  the  floor  to  vibrate  ;  and 
it  was  scarcely  possible  to  resist  the  conviction  that  there  actu- 
ally was  a  ponderous  mallet  at.  work  under  the  table;  yet, 
though  I  looked  several  times  to  satisfy  myself,  there  waa 
nothing  there. 

Occasionally,  it  would  seem,  the  character  of  the  raps  may 
depend,  in  a  measure,  on  the  medium :  yet,  of  this  I  have  not 
sufficient  evidence  to  speak  with  certainty. 

Blows  of  startling  Violence. 

During  an  evening  sitting,  on  October  25,  1860,  in  the 
front  parlor  of  Mrs.  Fox's  residence,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
there  were  present  Kate  Fox,  her  sister  Margaret,*  and  my- 
self. 

From  this  parlor  were  two  doors,  one  opening  on  the  pas- 
sage, the  other  on  a  back  parlor.  Both  were  locked  before  we 
sat  down. 

Baps  spelled  out,  "Darken."  We  did  so;  then,  after  the 
appearance  of  a  few  luminous  phenomena,  there  came  suddenly 
a  tremendous  blow  on  the  centre  of  the  table ;  a  blow  so  violent 
that  we  all  instinctively  started  back.  By  the  sound  it  waa 
such  a  stroke,  apparently  dealt  by  a  strong  man  with  a  heavy 
bludgeon,  as  would  have  killed  any  one,  and  such  a  blow  aa 
would  have  broken  in  pieces  a  table,  if  not  very  stout,  and 
would  have  left  severe  marks  upon  any  table,  no  matter  how 

*  The  only  time,  I  believe,  at  which  she  joined  our  circLB.    Having 
!  become  a  Catholic,  she  had  scruples  about  sitting. 


THAT  MIGHT  CAUSE  DEATH.  355 

hard  the  wood.  The  same  blow,  apparently  with  the  same 
force,  was  repeated  five  or  six  times.  It  was  impossible  to 
witness  such  violent  demonstrations  without  a  certain  feeling  , 
of  alarm ;  for  it  was  evident  that  there  was  power  sufficient  to  '• 
produce  fatal  results ;  yet  I  myself  felt  no  serious  apprehen- 
sions of  inj  ury,  knowing  of  no  case  on  record  in  which  any  one 
had  thus  been  seriously  hurt. 

When,  after  a  time,  we  relit  the  gas,  the  most  careful  exam-  l 
ination  of  the  table,  above  and  below,  convinced  me  that  there 
was  not  a  scratch,  nor  the  slightest  indentation,  either  on  the 
polished  top  or  on  the  under  surface. 

I  consider  it  a  physical  impossibility  that,  by  any  human  ' 
agency,  blows  indicating  such  formidable   power  should  have 
been  dealt  without  leaving  severe  marks  on  the  table  which  re- 
ceived them. 

Mrs.  Underhill  afterward  informed  me  that  she  had  several 
times,  in  presence  of  her  sister  Margaret,  been  greatly  alarmed 
by  blows  as  tremendously  violent  as  those  I  have  described.  I 
never  heard  any  so  apt  to  terrify  weak  nerves,  either  before  or 
since.  But,  several  years  afterward,  I  witnessed  a  demonstra- 
tion of  occult  power,  more  quiet  indeed — not  calculated  to 
alarm— but,  to  judge  by  the  sound,  of  nearly  equal  force. 

Knockings  that  shook  the  House. 

On  this  occasion,  March  10,  1864,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill 
and  myself  only  were  present,  in  the  second-story  front  parlor 
of  their  house ;  and  the  session  was  in  the  evening,  by  bright  — 
gas-light. 

In  a  few  minutes  after  we  sat  down  there  came  sounds  of  a  \ 
very  peculiar  character.  Each  stroke — if  that  term  be  applica-  j 
ble — soimded  exactly  like  the  dropping  on  the  floor,  from  the  | 
height  perhaps  of  two  feet,  of  a  medium-sized  cannon  ball.  At  / 
each  sound  the  entire  floor  of  the  room  shook  quite  distinctly,  ; 
We  felt  the  concussion  beneath  our  feet ;  and  it  was  communi- 
cated through  the  shaken  table  to  our  hands. 


366  AN  niPOKTANT  MESSAGE. 

I  Occasionally  it  soimded  exactly  as  if  the  cannoi  ball  r<> 
\  bounded,  dropping  a  second  time  with  diminished  force. 

By  these  cannon-ball-droppings  there  was  a  call  for  the  alpha- 
bet (five  strokes),  and  sentences  were  spelled  out  to  the  effect 
that  the  operating  spirit  was  no  stranger  to  me ;  that  the  book 
for  which  I  was  then  collecting  materials  would  be  acceptable, 
as  supplying  a  great  public  need ;  and  that  I  should  "  witness 
some  startling  things  from  time  to  time."     Then  was  added : 

"  I  am  little  changed.  My  knowledge  of  the  spirit-world  is 
not  so  great  as  you  would  suppose.  I  am  sure  of  the  things  I 
once  hoped  for.  I  have  found  my  beloved  friends  in  Heaven, 
and  I  know  I  live  in  immortality.  A.  D.  Wilson." 

Not  much,  if  one  will ;  not  much,  as  a  superficial  mind  may 
receive  it :  only  a  brief,  homely  message.  Yet,  if  it  be  true, 
how  immeasurable  its  importance!  How  infinitely  consoling 
the  simple  truths  it  unveils  ! 

Dr.  Wilson,  well-known  to  me  and  an  intimate  friend  of  the 
Un4erhills,  was  an  earnest  spiritualist  and  an  excellent  man. 
He  was  a  New  York  physician  of  large  practice  and  had  died 
less  than  a  year  before. 
/  The  sounds  by  which  the  sentence  (coming,  as  alleged,  from 
this  deceased  friend)  had  been  spelled  out,  letter  by  letter, 
seemed  to  be  so  unmistakably  those  of  a  ponderous  metallic 
globe  dropped  on  the  floor,  that  Mrs.  Underhill  said :  "  I  can 
scarcely  persuade  myself  that  there  is  not  a  heavy  ball  there." 
Upon  which  there  was  spelled  out  by  these  same  mysterious 
poundings : 

*^Well,  then,  look!" 

We  removed  the  table  and  carefully  examined  the  floor. 
Nothing  whatever  to  be  seen. 

As  on  a  previous  occasion,  I  went  downst.airs ;  and,  on  the 
floor  below,  I  heard  the  poundings  just  as  distinctly  as  when 
in  the  upper  room.  It  was  the  same  when  I  ascended  to  the 
floor  above.     Mrs.  Underbill  expressed  a  fear  that  the  sound* 


IN   A   HAUNTED   HOUSE.  357 

would  disturb  the  neighbors  in  the  adjoining  houses;  and  I 
think  they  must  have  heard  them. 

With  a  single  additional  example  I  close  this  branch  of  the 
subject. 

Effects  when  Local  and  Personal  Influences  combine. 

A  Haunted  House. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  October,  1860,  I  paid  a  visit,  along 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill,  Kate  Fox,  and  another  lady  and 
gentleman,  to  Quaker  friends  of  theii-s,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archer, 
then  living  within  five-minutes  drive  of  Dobbs'  FeiTy  on  the 
Hudson,  in  a  large,  old  house,  surrounded  with  magnificent 
trees,  and  in  which,  at  one  time,  Washington  had  his  head- 
quarters. 

This  house  has  been,  for  a  long  term  of  years,  reputed  haunted. 
The  person  still  supposed  to  haunt  it  is  a  former  owner,  Peter 
Livingston,  who,  on  account  of  lameness,  was  wont  to  use  a 
small,  invalid's  carriage ;  and  the  report  was  that,  at  the  dead 
of  night,  the  sound  of  that  carriage  was  heard  in  the  corridors 
and  especially  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  house. 

We  sat,  late  in  the  evening,  first  in  this  room ;  a  lower  bed- 
chamber, having  two  doors  of  exit.  Both  were  locked  before 
the  session  began,  the  keys  being  left  in  the  doors.  Besides  our 
own  party,  there  were  present  only  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archer.  By 
direction  of  the  raps  we  extinguished  the  lights  and  joined 
hands. 

Within  a  single  minute  afterward,  such  a  clatter  began,  ap- 
parently within  three  or  four  feet  of  where  I  sat  that  (as  we 
afterward  learned)  it  was  heard  and  commented  on,  by  some 
■visitors  in  a  room  separated  from  that  in  which  we  sat  by  two 
doors  and  a  long  passage.  It  seemed  as  if  heavy  substances 
of  iron,  such  as  ponderc  us  dumb-bells  or  weights,  were  rolled 
over  the  floor.  Then  there  were  poundings,  as  if  with  some 
heavy  mallet ;  then  sharp,  loud  knockings,  as  if  with  the  end  of 


y 


858  AN   OVERPOWERING   CLATTER   IS 

•  a  thick  staff.  Then  was  heard  a  sound  precisely  resembling 
the  rolling  of  a   small   carriage   on  a   plank  floor.     At  first 

■  this  sound  seemed  close  to  us,  then  it  gradually  lessened, 
as  if  the  carriage  were  wheeled  to  a  great  distance,  until  it  be- 
came, at  last,  inaudible.  Then  we  asked  to  have  it  again,  as 
if  coming  near ;  and  forthwith  it  commenced  with  the  faintest 
sound,  approaching  by  degrees  till  the  carriage  might  be  sup- 
posed almost  to  touch  the  backs  of  our  chairs.  Occasionally 
there  was  a  pounding  on  the  floor,  so  heavy  as  to  cause  a  sen- 
sible vibration. 

When  we  relit  the  lamp  and  searched  the  room,  the  doors 
were  found  still  locked,  with  the  keys  in  them ;  and  there  was 
not  an  article  to  be  found  with  which  such  noises  could,  by  hu- 
man agency,  have  been  made. 

Then,  at  my  suggestion,  we  transferred  the  experiment  to  a 
large  parlor  opposite,  that  had  been  used,  I  believe,  by  Living- 
;  stone  as  a  dining-room.     Again  we  locked  the  doors,  and,  obey- 
ing a  communication  from  the  raps,  put  out  the  lights   and 
;  joined   hands.     And   again,   in   less   than   two   minutes,    the 
disturbance  began  as  before.     At  times  the  racket  was  so  over- 
{  powering  that  we  could  scarcely  hear  one  another  speak.     The 
\  sound,  as  of  heavy  metallic  bodies  rolled  over  the  floor  was 
{ very  distinct.      Also  some  weighty  substance  seemed  to  be 
'  dragged,  as  by  a   rope,  backward   and  forward,    as  much   as 

•  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  each  way. 

All  this  time  we  kept  a  candle  on  the  table,  with  a  box  of 

matches  beside  it ;  and,  several  times,  when  the  clatter  *vas  at  its 

height,  we  struck  a  light,  to  see  what  the  efiect  would  be.     In 

!  every  instance  the  sounds  almost  immediately  died  away,  and  the 

j  search  we  made  in  the  room  for  some  explanation  of  the  strange 

;  disturbance   was   quite   unavailing.      The   sudden  transition, 

'  without  apparent  cause,  from  such  a  babel  of  noises  to  a  dead 

silence,  was  an  experience  such  as  few  have  had,  in  this  world. 

Till   the  experiment  was   repeated,  again  and   again,  alwaya 

with  the  same  result,  there  was  temptation  to  imagine  that  our 

Besses  had  been  playing  us  false. 


QUENCHED   BY    STRIKING    A    LIGHT.  359 

The  impression  on  myself  and  the  other  assistants  fvith  whom 
I  conversed  was  such,  as  to  produce  a  feeling  that  it  was  a 
physical  impossibility  such  sounds  could  be  produced,  except 
by  employing  ponderous  bodies.*  ' 

After  a  time  the  centre-table  at  which  we  sat  was  pounded  \ 
on  the  top,  and  then  from  beneath,  as  with  the  end  of  a  heavy 
bhidgeon ;  and  that  (to  judge  by  the  sound)  with  such  violence 
that  we  felt  serious  apprehensions  that  it  would  be  broken  to 
pieces. 

When  the  noises  ceased  and  we  relit  the  lamps,  I  and  others 
examined  the  table  minutely;  but  no  indentations  or  other 
marks  of  injury  were  to  be  found ;  nor  was  there  an  article  to 
be  seen  in  the  room  with  which  any  one  could  have  dealt  such 
blows ;  nor  anything  there  except  the  usual  furniture  of  a  par- 
lor. 

Both  these  rooms  were  in  a  portion  of  the  house  known  to 
have  been  built  and  occupied  by  Peter  Livingstone. 

I  feel  confident  that  the  sounds  could  have  been  heard  a 
hiuidred  yards  ofi".  f 

It  is  seldom  that  any  one,  going  in  search  of  phenomena  of 
this  class,  comes  upon  anything  so-  remarkable  as  the  foregoing. 
The  conditions  are  rare  :  a  locality  where,  for  several  genera- 
tions, ultramundane  interventions  have  spontaneously  ap- 
peared ;  and  the  presence,  in  that  locality,  of  two  among  the 
most  powerful  mediums  for  physical  manifestations  to  be  found 
in  this,  or  it  may  be  in  any  other  coimtry. 

T  cannot  reasonably  doubt  that,  before  the  present  decade 
closes,  the  intelligent  poi-tion  of  society  will  be  as  thoroughly 
con\  inced  of  the  reality  of  the  spirit-rap  as  enlightened  in- 
quirers already  are  that  the  size  and  form  of  the  brain  have 

*  See,  for  similar  phenomena,  Footfalls,  p.  231. 

f  See  FootfaMs,  pp.  217,  252,  275,  for  similar  noises.  I  wrote  out  thia 
a<x;ount  on  the  morning  after  the  incidents  occiirred.  We  sat  till 
midnight. 


POPULAE  NONSENSE. 

something  to  do  with  intellect,  and  that  magnetic  influences 
may  produce  hypnotic  effects. 

When  we  have  admitted  the  intermundane  character  of 
these  wonderful  echoes,  the  first  short  step  in  experimental 
Spiritualism  is  taken:  but  only  the  first.  The  rap  may  be 
ultramundane ;  and  yet  that  single  fact  is  insufficient  to  prove 
that  deceased  friends  can  communicate  with  us.  We  must 
seek,  in  the  rap-spelled  communications  themselves,  for  conclu- 
sive evidence  that  intercourse  from  beyond  the  bourne  is  not 
forbidden  to  man. 

If  I  have  devoted  more  space  than  seems  needed  to  the 
proof,  in  a  physical  sense,  of  so  simple  a  phenomenon,  I  beg  to 
remind  the  reader  of  the  persistent  nonsense  that  has  been 
spoken  and  written  about  spirit-rapping,  and  of  the  prejudices 
that  have  grownup  under  the  ridicule  which  has  thus  attached 
itself  to  the  t^rm. 


CHAPTER  IL 

HOYINO    >»C2^EBABLE   BODIES   BY  OCCULT   A-GENCtT. 

"  When  they  ^wne  to  Jordan,  they  cut  down  wood.  But  as  one  was 
felling  a  beam,  the  axehead  fell  into  the  water  :  and  Le  cried,  and  said 
[to  Elisha],  '  Alas,  master  I '  for  it  was  borrowed.  And  the  man  of  God 
said,  *  Where  fell  it  ?  '  And  he  shewed  him  the  place.  And  he  cut 
down  a  stick,  and  cas^  it  in  thither ;  and  the  iron  did  swim." — 3  Kings 
vi  4-6. 

The  raising  frorr^  the  ground  of  weighty  substances,  or  the 
moving  of  these  from  place  to  place,  is  one  of  the  most  common, 
and  most  easily  verified,  of  physical  manifestations.  I  have 
elsewhere  given  many  examples  of  it.*  Here  I .  shall  add  but 
two  or  three  out  of  the  numerous  cases  that  have  come  undci.- 
my  eye  during  spiritual  sessions.  — — 

A  most  satisfactory  test  of  the  power,  by  occult  agency,  to 
raise  ponderable  substances  was  suggested  to  me  by  that  practi- 
cal thinker,  the  late  Kobert  Chambers,  the  well-known  author 
and  publisher,  during  his  visit  to  the  United  States,  in  the 
autumn  of  1860;  and  we  carried  it  out  on  the  thirteenth  of 
October  of  that  year. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day  we  had  a  sitting  in  Mr.  Uiider- 
hilPs  dining-room ;  there  being  present  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Under- 
bill, Kate  Fox,  Mr.  Chambers,  and  myself.  In  this  room,  we 
found  an  extension  dinner-table  of  solid  mahogany,  capable  of 
seating  fourteen  persons.  This  we  contracted  to  the  form  of  a 
centre-table,  and,  having  procured  a  large  steelyard,  we  found 
that  it  weighed,  in  that  form,  a  hundred  and  twenty-one  pounds. 

We  suspended  this  table  by  the  steelyard,  in  exact  equipoise 

♦  FootfaUs,  pp.  110,  112,  113  (note),  252,  25G,  276,  279  to  286,  and 
many  others. 
16 


S62  TEST   SUGGESTED   BY   ROBERT  CHAMBERS. 

and  about  eight  inches  from  the  floor.  Then  we  sat  down  by  it; 
and  while  our  experiment  proceeded,  Mrs.  Underhill  sat  with 
the  points  of  both  feet  touching  one  of  mine ;  and  Kate  in  the 
same  relation  to  Mr.  Chambers.  This  was  done,  at  their  sug- 
gestion, so  as  to  afford  us  proof  that  they  had  no  physical 
agency  in  the  matter.  Their  hands  were  over  the  table,  near 
the  top,  but  not  touching  it.  There  was  bright  gas-light.  Thus 
we  were  enabled  to  obtain 

A  Crucial  Test. 

The  table  remaining  suspended,  with  the  constant  weight  at 
the  figure  121,  we  asked  that  it  might  be  made  lighter.  In  a 
f'.iw  seconds  the  long  arm  ascended.  "We  moved  the  weight  to 
the  figure  100:  it  still  ascended;  then  to  80;  then  to  60. 
Even  at  this  last  figure  the  smaller  arm  of  the  steelyard  was 
somewhat  depressed,  showing  that  the  table,  for  the  moment, 
weighed  less  than  sixty  pounds.  It  had  lost  more  than  ludf  its 
weight,  namely,  upward  of  sixty-one  pounds :  in  other  words, 
there  was  a  power  equal  to  sixty-one  pounds  sustaining  it. 
Then  we  asked  that  it  might  be  made  heavier ;  and  it  was  so  : 
first  as  the  figures  indicated,  to  130,  and  finally  to  a  hundred 
and  forty  four  pounds. 

The  change  of  weight  continued,  in  each  instance,  from  thre& 
to  eight  seconds,  as  we  ascertained  by  our  watches :  and  during 
the  whole  time  the  ladies  maintained  the  same  position  of  feet 
and  hands ;  Mr.  Underhill  not  approaching  the  table. 

We  had  given  Mr.  Underbill  no  notice  of  our  intention  to 
ask  for  this  experiment.  The  steelyard  was  borrowed  for  the 
occasion  from  a  wholesale  grocer,  living  in  the  neighborhood. 

How  much  a  Jewish  axehead  commonly  weighed,  in  the  days 
of  Elisha,  I  know  not ;  it  could  be  but  a  few  pounds.  Our 
miracle  (dunamis)  exceeded  that  of  the  prophet,  as  far  as 
s-egards  the  weight  of  the  body  that  was  made  lighter :  but 
«4lie  Hebrew  seer  was  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  object  raised 
ihan  were  our  mediums. 


A    TABLE    SUSPENDED.  363 

On  the  evening  just  preceding  that  on  which  we  tried  the 
al  'ove  experiment  I  had  a  sitting  at  Mr.  TJnderhill's,  with  verj 
satisfuctory  result. 

A  HEAVY  Dinner-table  suspended   in  the  Air,  withoitt 
Contact. 

Oar  session  was  on  the  evening  of  October  12,  1860,  lasting 
from  half-past  nine  till  eleven.*  It  was  held  in  the  same  room 
and  at  the  same  table  mentioned  above,  and  by  gas-light.  Pres- 
ent Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underbill,  Kate  Fox,  Mr.  Harrison  Gray 
L)yar,  of  New  York,  and  myself. 

We  had  very  loud  rappings,  from  various  parts  of  the  room 
and  on  the  chairs. 

Then,  while  our  hands  were  on  the  table,  it  began  to  move, 
sometimes  with  a  rotary  motion,  sometimes  rising  up  on  one 
side,  until  finally  it  rose  from  the  ground  all  but  one  leg. 

Then  we  sought  to  induce  it  to  rise  entirely  from  the  floor. 
After  (what  seemed)  strenous  efforts,  almost  successful,  to  rise, 
we  aided  it  by  each  putting  a  single  finger  under  it ;  and,  with 
this  slight  assistance,  it  rose  into  the  air  and  remained  sus- 
pended during  six  or  seven  seconds. 

After  a  time  we  asked  whether,  if  we  removed  our  fingera 
from  the  table-top,  while  it  was  in  the  air,  it  could  still  remain 
suspended ;  and  the  reply  (by  rapping)  being  in  the  affirmative, 
after  aiding  it  to  rise  as  before,  we  withdrew  our  fingers  entirely, 
raising  them  above  it.  The  table  then  remained,  nearly  level, 
suspended  without  any  human  support  whatever,  during  the 
space  of  five  or  six  seconds ;  and  then  gradually  settled  down, 
without  jar  or  sudden  dropping,  to  the  floor. 

Then,  anxious  to  advance  a  step  farther,  we  asked  if  the  table 
could  not  be  raised  from  the  floor  without  any  aid  or  contact 
whatever.  The  reply  being  in  the  affirmative,  we  stood  up  and 
placed  all  our  hands  over  it,  at  the  distance  of  three  or  four  inchea 

*  We  found,  by  repeated  trials,  that  our  experiments  succeeded  better 
when  we  sat  at  a  late  hour,  after  the  servants  had  gone  to  bed,  when 
the  house  and  the  streets  were  quiet. 


364  A    HEAVY    DINING-TABLE   RAISED. 

from  the  table-top :  when  it  rose  of  itself,  follow  mg  our  hands 
as  we  gradually  raised  them,  till  it  hung  in  the  air  about  the 
same  distance  from  the  ground  as  before.  There  it  remained 
six  or  seven  seconds,  preserving  its  horizontal,  and  almost  aa 
steady  as  when  it  rested  on  the  ground :  then  it  slowly  descended, 
still  preserving  the  horizontal,  until  the  feet  reached  the  carpet 
As  before,  there  was  no  jar  or  sudden  dropping.* 

The  same  experiment  was  repeated,  next  evening  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Robert  Chambers,  after  we  had  completed  our  testa 
with  the  steelyard;  and  with  exactly  the  same  results.  At 
first,  as  before,  we  raised  it  on  our  fingers ;  then,  withdrawing 
them,  it  remained  in  the  air  six  or  seven  seconds.  On  the  sec- 
ond trial  it  rose  entirely  without  contact,  remaining  suspended 
for  about  the  same  space. 

It  should  here  be  remarked  that  we  were  in  the  habit,  during 
these  experiments,  of  moving  the  table  to  different  parts  of  the 
room,  and  of  looking  under  it  from  time  to  time. 

Upon  the  whole  I  consider  this  moving  of  physical  objects 
— les  apports^  as  the  French  spiritualists  term  it — to  be  as  con- 
clusively established,  in  its  ultramundane  aspect,  as  the  spirit- 
rap.  A  hundred-and-twenty-pound  dinner-table  is  no  trifle  to 
lift.  The  conditions  exclude  the  possibility  of  concealed 
machinery.  And  by  what  conceivable  bodily  effort,  undetecta- 
ble by  watchful  bystanders,  can  two  or  three  assistants  heave 
from  the  ground,  maintain  in  the  air,  and  then  drop  slowly  to 
the  floor,  so  ponderous  a  weight,  with  their  hands,  the  while, 
in  full  view,  under  broad  gas-light  ?  No  one,  in  his  senses  and 
believing  in  his  senses,  can  witness  what  I  have  witnessed,  and 
yet  remain  a  sceptic  in  this  matter. 

It  makes  not,  imder  the  circumstances,  at  all  against  it,  that 
I\Irs.  XJ'naerhill  and  her  sister  were,  at  one  period  of  their  lives, 

*  The  accounts  of  this  and  of  tlie  sitting  of  October  13,  were  both 
written  out  the  next  morning.  To  prevent  repetition  I  here  remark 
that  notes  of  all  tne  sittmgs  recorded  in  this  volume  were  taken  eithei 
at  the  time,  or  next  day  or  (in  a  few  cases)  a  day  or  two  later. 


EXPERIMENl'   ON  STATEN   ISLAND.  365 

in  the  habit  of  sitting  as  professional  mediums.  But  even  if  it 
did,  still,  in  the  seclusion  of  a  private  family  and  in  the  ab. 
sence  of  every  one  who  had  ever,  till  a  few  months  before,  been 
suspected  of  possessing  spiritual  powers — I  have  witnessed  oc 
currences  even  more  marvellous  than  those  above  related. 
Thus  it  happened : 

A  Table,  flung  into  the  Air,  rotates. 

In  the  spring  of  1870  I  was  visiting  a  friend  of  mine,  Mr. 

B ,  whose  charming  residence  on  Staten  Island  commands 

a  magnificent  view  over  the  Bay  of  New  York,  with  the  dis- 
tant city  on  one  hand  and  the  Narrows,  opening  into  the  ocean, 
on  the  other. 

The  family  had  no  knowledge  of  Spiritualism  and  scant  faith 
in  any  of  its  phenomena,  until  a  month  or  two  before  my  visit, 
when  one  of  the  sons,  a  young  man  whom  I  shall  call  Charles, 
suddenly  found  himself,  as  much  to  his  surprise  as  to  that  of 
his  relatives,  gifted  with  rare  spiritual  powers. 

Passing  by,  for  the  present,  the  most  remarkable  of  these,  I 
here  reproduce,  from  minutes  taken  next  day  and  submitted  for 
correction  to  the  assistants,  part  of  a  record  of  what  I  witnessed 
at  two  sessions,  both  held  on  the  second  of  April,  1870. 

The  first  was  in  the  afternoon.  We  had  been  sitting  pre- 
viously in  a  back  parlor ;  but,  on  my  proposal,  we  adjourned  to 
the  drawing-i'oom,  on  the  front  of  the  house,  where,  until  then, 
we  had  not  sat.  There  were  present,  besides  Charles  and  my- 
self, two  other  relatives  of  the  family,  Mr.  N and  Mr. 

L .     The  room  was  darkened  with  heavy  curtains  which 

we  drew  close ;  but  sufficient  light  came  through  to  enable  us 
to  see  the  outlines  of  objects. 

We  sat  at  a  heavy  deal-table,  made,  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose, very  thick  and  strong ;  the  legs  more  than  two  inches 
square  ;  size  two  feet  seven  inches  by  one  foot  eight  inches,  and 
weighing  twenty-five  pounds. 

At  first  tliere  was  a  trembling  motion,  then  a  tilting  from 


366 

side  to  side,  gradi  ally  becoming  more  powerful,  and  at  last  so 
violent  that  it  was  snatched  from  our  hands.  Then,  at  our  re- 
quest, the  table  was  made  so  heavy  that  I  found  it  scarcely  pos- 
sible, with  all  my  strength,  to  move  it  even  half  an  inch  from 
the  floor ;  the  apparent  weight  some  two  hundred  pounds. 
Then,  again  at  our  request,  it  was  made  so  light  that  we  could 
lift  one  end  of  it  with  a  single  finger ;  its  weight  seeming  ten 
or  twelve  pounds  only.  Then  it  was  laid  down  on  its  side ; 
and,  no  one  touching  it,  I  was  unable  to  raise  it.  Then  it  was 
tilted  on  two  legs  and  all  my  strength  was  insuflicient  to  press 
it  down. 

Finally,  after  being  jerked  with  such  sudden  violence  that  we 
all  drew  back,  fearing  injury,  and  merely  reached  our  fingers 
on  the  edge  of  its  top,  it  was  proj  ected  into  the  air  so  high  that 
when  we  rose  from  our  chairs  we  could  barely  place  our  fingers 
on  it ;  and  there  it  swung  about,  during  six  or  seven  seconds. 
Besides  touching  it,  we  could  see  its  motion  by  the  dim  light. 

We  sat  again  in  the  evening  at  ten  o'clock,  in  the  same  room, 
darkened  :  only  three  at  the  table,  N ,  Charles,  and  myself. 

Then — probably  intensified  by  the  darkness — commenced  a 
demonstration  exhibiting  more  physical  force  than  I  had  ever 
before  witnessed.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  strongest  man  liv- 
ing could,  without  a  handle  fixed  to  pull  by,  have  jerked  the 
table  with  anything  like  the  violence  with  v/hich  it  was  now, 
as  it  seemed,  driven  from  side  to  side.  We  all  felt  it  to  be  a 
power,  a  single  stroke  from  which  would  have  killed  any  one 
of  us  on  the  spot.  Then  the  table  was,  as  it  were,  flung  up- 
ward into  the  air,  again  so  high  that,  when  we  stood  up,  we 
could  just  touch  it,  and  shaken  backward  and  forward  for  some 
time  ere  it  was  set  down.  Again  it  was  raised,  even  more  vio- 
lently than  before  and  swung  backward  and  forward,  as  far  as 
by  the  touch  we  could  judge,  in  an  arc  of  seven  or  eight  feet, 
some  five  or  six  times.  A  third  time  it  was  hurled  into  the 
air,  sometimes  out  of  our  reach,  but  we  felt  it  turn  over  arJi. 
over,  like  a  revolving  wheeo,  r^lght  or  ten  times.  As  nearly  as  we 
could  judge  without  reference  to  our  watches,  it  was  somf 


BUT   NO   HARM   IKJNE.  367 

twelve  or  fourtemi  seconds  in.  the  air,  before  it  descended.  Some- 
times we  were  able  to  touch  it,  sometimes  not. 

Then  I  asked  whether,  some  time  hereafter,  we  might  rot  be 
able  to  obtain  objective  apparitions.  The  answer  was  given  by 
raising  the  table  three  times  from  the  floor,  each  time  slamming 
it  down  with  such  force  that  the  noise  was  distinctly  heard  in 
the  story  above ;  and,  when  a  candle  was  lighted,  we  found  the 
top  (of  inch  board),  split  entirely  across  and  wrenched  from  the 
legs ;  the  long  nails  with  which  it  had  been  secured  to  prevent 
such  accident  being  drawn  out. 

While  these  manifestations  were  in  progress,  it  occurred  to 
me,  as  very  strong  evidence  of  the  humane  care  of  the  operating 
spirits,  that  when  such  tremendous  power  was  exerted  close  to 
us,  no  serious  accident  happened  ;  and  that  I  had  never  heard 

of  any  such,  on  similar  occasion.     Once  N 's  wrist  was 

sprained,  and  twice  his  knees  and  also  Charles'  were  struck ; 
but  though  this  pained  them  a  good  deal  at  the  moment,  the 
pain  ceased  in  a  few  minutes — through  spii'itual  influence,  as 
they  supposed.,  I  certainly  would  not  trust  myself  within  reach 
of  any  similar  demonstrations,  if  produced  by  human  hands. 

I  expressed  my  thankfulness  and  gratification  at  having  been 
allowed  to  witness  such  manifestations.  The  answer,  by  im- 
pression through  Charles'  hand,  was :  "  Don't  you  know  that 
we  are  as  much  gi*atified  to  give  them  as  you  to  receive 
them?" 

Then  they  informed  us  that  *'  their  powers  were  a  little  shat 
tered  for  to-night ;"  and,  at  midnight,  we  adjourned. 

I  beg  that  my  readers  will  here  note  the  attendant  circum- 
stances. The  locality,  selected  by  myself,  the  drawing-room  in 
a  gentleman's  house;  no  professional  medium  present;  the  as- 
sistants, the  son  of  the  gentleman  in  whose  house  we  were  sit- 
ting and  two  other  gentlemen,  his  near  relations ;  the  motion 
out  of  our  reach,  so  that  it  was  a  sheer  impossibility  that  those 
present  could  have  produced  it.  The  shattered  table  remained^ 
a  tangible  proof  of  the  strong  force  employed. 


) 


368  SUSPICION   OF  IMPOSTUEE  OUT  OF  PLACE. 

How  thorouglily  out  of  place  here  the  suspicion  of  deceptio* 
or  imposture  I  How  utterly  untenable  the  hypothesis  of  illu- 
sion or  hallucination  !  Thomas,  touching,  would  have  be- 
lieved. It  would  need  a  disciple  of  Berkeley  to  witness  these 
phenomena,  and  still  remain  a  sceptic  in  the  reality  of  such 
manifestations. 


CHAPTER  IIL 

Direct  Spikit-wkitino. 

"In  the  same  hour  came  forth  fingers  of  a  man's  hand,  and  wrot« 
over  against  the  candlestick  upon  the  plaster  of  the  wall  of  the 
king's  palace :  and  the  king  saw  the  part  of  the  hand  that  wrote."— 
Daniel  v.  5. 

A  TRAVELLER,  bound  on  some  mission  of  passing  importance, 
may  now  and  then,  amid  the  prosaic  details  he  encounters  from 
stage  to  stage  in  his  journey,  lose  sight  of  the  great  object  to 
which  it  leads ;  yet,  in  proportion  as  he  nears  the  goal,  liis 
thoughts  concentre,  more  and  more,  on  the  ultimate  issue. 
So,  in  the  journey  through  these  pages,  may  it  happen  to  the 
reader.  He  is  travelling  in  search  of  proofs,  cognizable  by 
human  senses,  of  another  life.  As  he  proceeds,  the  phenomena, 
homely  at  first,  gain  in  living  interest ;  for  they  go  to  estab- 
lish, ever  more  and  more  conclusively,  the  existence  of  an 
agency  not  occult,  not  ultramundane  only,  but  intelligent,  but 
spiritual :  the  agency  of  beings  like  ourselves,  though  they  be 
no  longer  denizens  of  earth. 

There  was  published,  in  Paris  in  the  year  1857,  by  a  young 

ssian  nobleman,  a  book*  which  did  not  attract  the  atten- 

on  it  deserved.     Its  author,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  the 

pleasure  of  making  in  Paris,  a  year  after  his  book  appeared  ^ 

had  devoted  his  life,  almost  exclusively,  to  the  study  of  what 

he  deemed  the  Supernatural  and  of  the  relations  between  the 

*  La  Bealite  des  Es^prit  et  U  PMnomene  merveideux  de  leur  Ecriture 
directe  demontrees^  par  le  Baron  de  Guldenstubbe,  Paris,  1857. 

For  particulars  regarding  the  Guldenstubb^  family  and  their  rea  ' 
dcDoe,  see  FootfaUs^  pp.  263  and  260  (note). 
10* 


370  EXPERIENCES   IN   SPIEIT-WEITINa 

visible  world  and  that  which  we  have  yet  to  see :  the  object 
of  his  studies  being  to  obtain  positive  demonstration  of  tlia 
soul's  immortal  existence.  His  work  is  that  of  a  classical 
scholar,  and  contains  curious  and  interesting  researches  touch- 
ing the  Spiritualism  of  antiquity.  It  exhibits  much  sagacity, 
with  the  drawback  that  the  Baron  beKeves  not  only  in  influ- 
ences from  the  next  world  but  also  in  direct,  miraculous  inter- 
vention of  God  ;  as  the  arresting,  by  Him,  of  the  earth  and  the 
moon  in  their  orbits  for  the  space  of  a  day.*  The  book  is 
chiefly  occupied,  as  its  title  implies,  with  proofs  of  direct 
writing  by  spirits. 

In  the  ten  months  from  August,  1856,  when  M.  de  Gulden- 
stubbe  first  observed  this  phenomenon,  to  June,  1857,  he  ob- 
tained more  than  jive  hundred  specimens ;  out  of  which  he 
gives  us  lithographs  of  sixty-seven.  These  experiences  were 
witnessed  by  more  than  fifty  persons  ;  of  whom  he  names  thir- 
teen, f  These  witnesses  furnished  the  paper  that  was  used  id 
tbe  experiments. 

These  experiments  were  chiefly  made,  and  were  most  success- 
ful, in  old  cathedrals  or  in  other  ancient  places  of  worship,  or 
in  historic  residences.  But  before  I  reached  Paris,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1858,  there  had  been  an  order  issued,  either  by  the 
government  or  the  clergy,  prohibiting  such  experiments  in 
churches  and  other  public  buildings.  It  was  vigorously  en- 
forced, as  we  found  when  Baron  de  Guldenstubb6,  his  sister 
and  myself  visited  the  Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  on  the  twenty-ninth 
of  September,  and  placed  a  paper  in  one  of  the  side  chapels. 
[  had  determined,  however,  to  persevere  in  my  endeavor  to 

*  Work  cited,  p.  44.     Joshua  x.  12-14. 

1^  Namely :  Prince  Leonide  GaHtzdn,  ot  Moscow ;  Prince  S.  Met- 
tstshersky ;  General  the  Baron  de  Brewem ;  Baron  de  Voigts-Rhetz ; 
Baron  Borys  d'Uexkull ;  Count  de  Szapary ;  Count  d'Ourches ;  Col- 
onel Toutcheff ;  Colonel  de  Kollmann ;  Doctor  Georgii,  now  of  Lon- 
don ;  Doctor  Bowron,  of  Paris  j  M.  Kiorboe,  a  distinguished  artist,  and 
M.  Ravene,  proprietor  of  a  gallery  of  paintings  at  Berlin. — Introduo 
Uoiij  p.  XV. 


OF    THE    BAEON    DE   GULDENSTUBBlfi.  371 

verify  this  important  phenomenon  then  and  there  ;  but  wa? 
prevented  from  doing  so  by  a  telegram  from  England,  inform 
ing  me  of  the  dangerous  illness  of  my  father,  Robert  Owen, 
with  whom  I  remained  till  his  death,  six  weeks  afterward.* 

Baron  de  Guldenstubbe  impressed  me  very  favorably  as  a 
man  of  great  earnestness  and  perfect  good  faith ;  one  who  pur- 
sued his  researches  in  a  most  reverent  spirit.  Enthusiastic  he 
certainly  was ;  and,  for  that  reason,  a  less  dispassionate  ob- 
server; yet  the  multitude  of  his  experiences,  obtained  under 
every  variety  of  circumstance,  and  the  number  of  respectable 
witnesses  who  permit  their  names  to  appear  in  attestation  of 
the  results,  leave  little  room  to  doubt  their  genuine  charac  /V 
ter.  .  \J 

I  reproduce  three  out  of  the  many  specimens  this  author  has 
given. 

The  first,  in  French,  was  obtained  August  16,  1856,  in  the 
presence  of  Count  d'Ourches,  under  these  circumstances :  The 
Count,  a  believer  in  spiritual  phenomena  but  leaning  a  little 
toward  demonology,  prepared  two  papers  ;  the  one  was  blank, 
on  the  other  he  had  wiitten  the  well-known  text,  "  Hereby 
know  ye  the  spirit  of  God :  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  that 
Jesus  C*hrist  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God."  \  These  he  placed 
side  by  side,  on  a  table,  within  view.  After  ten  minutes  he 
found  written  on  the  blank  leaf:  ^^ I  confess  J'esus  in  the 
flesh.''^ — A.  V.  G.  The  signature  was  known  to  the  Baron  ««=;  ,  - 
the  initials  of  a  deceased  friend.  J  Here  is  a  fac-simile  of  the 
writing : 

*  I  find  the  following  entry  in  my  journal,  written  just  after  his 
death :  "  During  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  of  my  father's  life  he 
was  an  unwavering  believer  in  Spiritualism ;  though  I  doubt  whether 
the  same  amount  of  evidence  which  convinced  him  would  have  satisfied 
me.  To  the  last  he  spoke  of  a  future  life  with  the  same  undoubting 
certainty  as  of  any  earthly  event,  which  he  expected  soon  to  occur.  Hia 
death  was  the  most  peaceful  I  ever  witnessed. 

f  1  John  iv.  2. 

i  HeaUte  des  EspriUy  p.  69. 


372  6FEOIMEN0   OF  DIBEOT 

The  second,  in  EngKsh,  was  written,  also  in  the  presence  of 
the  Count  d'Ourches,  September  9,  1856,  near  the  column  of 
Francis  II.  Under  two  crosses,  as  the  fac-simile  here  givec 
shows,  is  written :  "  lam  the  life  ;  "  and  the  initials,  in  mono 
gram,  are  those  of  the  unfortunate  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  * 


-y 


C^VM 


/  A  reminder  may  here  be  acceptable  to  the  reader  :  "  In  the 

'  north  transept  of  the  church  of  St.  Denis,  on  one  side  of  the 

I  door,  is  a  composite  column  of  white  marble,  erected  by  Mary 

j  Stuart  to  the  memory  of  her  husband,  Francis  II.,  who  died  in 

\  1661."  t 

*  Count  d'Ourches  personally  confirmed  to  me  the  authenticity  of 
these  two  examples  of  spirit- writing,  when  I  called  on  him  October  1, 
\858.    See  FootfaUs,  p.  113  (note). 
—      f  Parts  and  its  Enurons^  London,  1859 ;  p.  383. 


SPmiT-WEITING.  373 

The  last  of  the  examples  selected,  is  also  of  historic  interest 
It  is  the  conventual  signature  of  the  frail  and  repentant  Du«       ^ 
chesse  de  la  Yalli^re  (Soeur  Louise  de  la  Misericorde),  obtained        7 
by  M.  de  Guldenstubbe,  December  29,  1856,  in  the  church  of 
Val-de-Grace :  Colonel  de  Kollmann  being  the  witncHn  present. 
Hero  it  is : 


io^ 


^fr" 


If  the  reader  ask  why  especially  in  the  chapel  of  Val-de- 
Grace,  and  why  not  the  family  name,  the  following  may  be 
worth  recalling : 

"  A  small  confessional,  with  a  strong  iron  railing,  opens  into 
tlie  church  of  Val-de  Grace,  from  one  of  the  passages  behind. 
Til  is  was  the  confessional  used  by  Mademoiselle  de  la  Yalliere, 
previous  to  her  taking  the  vows;  and  from  the  windows  of 
the  above-named  passage  is  seen  the  building  she  occupied  at 
that  period."  * 

**  The  Carmelite  convent  in  which  the  celebrated  Mademoi 

*  Paris  and  its  Enmrona^  p.  174. 


874:  EXPERIENCES    IN    SPIEIT-WIIITINO 

eelle  de  la  Valli^re  took  the  veil  in  1675,  as  *  Sceur  Louise  de 
la  Misericorde,'  is  in  the  Rue  d'Enfer,  behind  St.  Jacques  du 
Haut  Pas."  * 

How  strangely  suggestive  all  this  !  "We  search  pyramid  and 
cathedral  and  vaulted  catacomb  in  quest  of  hieroglyphics  and 
sepulchral  sculpture  and  lapidary  epitaphs:  little  thinking 
what  relics  of  "^he  departed,  far  more  precious  than  all  inani- 
mate memorials,  might  there  be  obtained,  attesting  the  con- 
tinued existence  and  memory  of  those,  more  alive  than  we, 
whom  we  are  wont  to  think  of  only  as  dead  celebrities  of  tb< 
Past. 

Though  I  was  prevented,  by  business,  from  revisiting  Paris 
after  my  father's  death  and  there  verifying  M.  de  Gulden- 
stubby's  observations,  I  have  since  been  fortunate  enough  to 
procure,  in  the  United  States,  personal  evidence,  in  corrobora- 
tion. And,  in  some  cases,  this  evidence  was  obtained  under 
conditions  so  strict  that  I  think  any  candid  and  intelligent 
person,  witnessing  what  I  have  witnessed,  must  cease  to  doubt 
that  which  millions  will  deem  incredible ;  namely,  that,  here 
upon  earth,  we  may  receive  communications  dictated  by  other 
intelligence,  written  by  other  hand,  than  the  hand  and  the 
intelligence  of  any  among  earth's  inhabitants.  It  avails  noth- 
ing to  allege  that  this  is  impossible,  if  it  shall  appear  that  it  is 
true. 

I  obtained  examples  of  spirit- wi-iting,  during  a  sitting  with 
Kate  Fox,  as  early  as  February  27,  1860,  and  on  one  or  two 
subsequent  occasions.  But  it  was  during  sittings  in  darkened 
rooms  ;  and,  on  carefully  looking  over  the  minutes  of  these  ex- 
periments, I  perceive  that,  until  the  autumn  of  the  next  year, 
I  had  not  taken  all  the  precautions  which  might,  in  the  dark, 
be  taken;  nor  ever  seen  any  hand  while  it  was  writing. 
Therefore,  anl  because  space  is  precious,  I  pass  over  these 

*  Same  work,  p.  191. 


JN    THE   UNITED   STATES.  375 

earlier  examples  and  shall  here  record  the  insults  of  two  sittings 
only,  both  of  remarkable  character.  One  carefully  authenti- 
cated case  is  better  than  twenty,  loosely  attested. 

During  the  first  of  these  sittings,  held  August  8,  1861,  in 
Mrs.  Fox's  house,  in  "West  Forty-sixth  street,  New  York,  I  had 
an  experience,  such,  probably,  as  few  persons  have  ever  en 
joyed. 

Seeing  a  Luminous  Hand  write. 

I  sought  an  evening  session  with  Kate  Fox,  hoping  to  ob- 
tain an  apparition,  which  had  been  promised  me  by  rappings — 
but  without  setting  the  time — a  few  evenings  before.  Kate 
proposed  that  we  should  sit  in  the  lower  parlor ;  but,  as  I  knew 
there  was  a  front  parlor  on  the  second  floor  and  wished  to 
avoid  interruption,  I  proposed  that  we  should  hold  our  sitting 
there,  to  which  she  readily  assented. 

It  was  a  small  room,  very  simply  furnished  with  sofa,  chairs, 
and  a  table,  about  two  and  a  half  feet  by  three.  There  were  no 
closets  nor  presses  in  this  room,  and  but  two  doors  ;  one  on  the 
upper  passage,  the  other  communicating  with  an  adjoining 
apartment.  The  table  stood  in  the  comer ;  we  moved  it  to  the 
centre  of  the  room. 

I  locked  both  the  doors,  and  took  the  additional  precau- 
tion of  seeding  them.  This  I  did  with  short  strips  of  paper 
connecting  the  door  with  the  door-sill,  attaching  the  upper  part 
of  each  strip  with  wax  to  the  door,  and  the  lower  part  to  the 
sill ;  and  impressing  both  seals  with  my  engraved  signet-ring. 
I  told  Kate  (and  I  know  she  believed  me)  that  I  did  so  for  the 
sake  of  those  who  might  hereafter  read  the  record  of  this  sit- 
ting, not  to  quiet  any  suspicions  of  my  own. 

As  we  were  sitting  down,  she  said  laughingly :  "  You  ought 
to  look  under  the  sofa,  Mr.  Owen."  I  thanked  her  for  the  re- 
minder, rolled  the  sofa  out  from  the  wall,  turned  it  over  and 
examined  it  thoroughly,  before  replacing  it.  Then  I  minutely 
inspected  every  part  of  the  room. 

On  the  table  was  an  ink-stand  and  a  steel-pen  with,  wooden 


376  SEEING    AN   ILUMINATED  HAND 

noldf  r ;  nothing  else.  In  case  of  a  dark  sitting,  I  had  brought 
with  me  a  small  package  consisting  of  eight  or  ten  slips  oi 
writing  paper,  cut  from  foolscap  shcits  and  about  four  inchea 
in  width  to  be  used,  successively,  in  case  I  took  notes  in  the 
dark.  They  were  blank,  except  that  I  had  put,  on  one  cornei 
of  each,  a  private  mark. 

This  package,  with  a  pencil,  I  laid  on  the  table  on  my  left 
hand,  within  reach  ;  Kate  sitting  beside  me,  on  my  right :  and 
then  we  awaited  instructions. 

These  soon  came,  by  raps  ;  spelling  out  "  Darken."  We 
effectually  excluded  light  through  two  front  windows  on  the 
street  by  outside  shutters  and  window-blinds  :  after  which  we 
extinguished  the  gas  and  resumed  our  seats. 

Then  came  the  additional  instructions,  **  Rest  your  hands 
on  the  table.  Join  hands."  I  caused  Kate  to  rest  her  hands 
on  the  table,  clasped ;  and  I  placed  my  right  hand  on  both  hers, 
reserving  my  left  hand  free. 

Then  was  spelled :  "  Put  your  hand  under  table."  I  placed 
my  left  hand  under  the  table,  on  my  knee. 

Then,  by  the  raps :  "  Cover  left  hand  and  hold  writing-paper 
and  pencil  in  it."  I  had  to  remove  my  right  hand  from  Kate's 
for  a  few  moments,  so  as  to  cover  my  left  hand  with  a  handker- 
chief and  place  the  package  of  paper-slips  and  the  pencO  in  it. 
But  I  had  hardly  done  this,  when  it  spelled :  "  Join  hands." 
I  replaced  my  right  hand  on  both  of  Kate's. 

Then  I  felt  the  paper  dra\vn  from  my  hand,  but  the  pencil 
was  left.  About  a  minute  afterward  the  pencil  was  taken  and 
my  hand  was  tapped  witii  it,  quite  distinctly,  three  times ;  after 
which  it  was  carried  off.  There  was  no  sound  of  its  falling, 
but,  after  an  interval,  there  was  a  distinct  rustling  of  paper  on 
the  floor.  This  alternated  with  the  sound  of  a  pen  scratching 
on  paper ;  and  continued,  at  intervals,  for  a  considerable  space, 
during  all  which  I  kept  my  hand  on  both  of  Kate's. 

After  a  time,  attracted  by  a  rustling  on  her  right,  Kate 
looked  on  the  floor  and,  with  an  expression  of  surprise,  called 
my  attention  to  what  she  saw.     Rising  and  leaning  over  th« 


ENGAGED  IN  WETTING.  377 

table,  but  without  releasing  Kate's  hands,  I  could  distinctly 
perceive,  on  the  carpet  close  by  Kate  on  the  right,  a  luminous 
appearance,  of  rectangular  form,  very  clearly  defined,  and,  as 
nearly  as  I  could  judge,  the  size  and  shape  of  one  of  the  slipa 
of  -writing-paper  that  had  been  taken  from  my  hand. 

Then,  by  the  raps :  "  Do  not  look  at  present."  Whereupon 
I  reseated  myself. 

Kate  then  asked :  "  Cannot  the  spirit  raise  that  illuminated 
paper  and  put  it  on  the  table  before  us  ?  " 

Reply,  by  the  raps :  "  First  let  me  show  you  the  pencil." 

After  a  little,  Kate  informed  me  that  she  again  saw  the  lu- 
minous appearance,  even  more  brightly  than  at  first.  Then, 
leaning  over  as  before  and  watching  it  for  some  time,  I  dis- 
tinctly saw,  above  what  seemed  to  be  the  illuminated  slip  of 
paper,  the  outline,  in  shadow,  of  a  small  hand  holding  a  pencil 
and  moving  slowly  over  the  paper.  I  could  not,  however, 
distinguish  the  writing. 

Kate  exclaimed,  in  tones  of  delight :  "  Do  you  see  the  hand  ? 
— and  the  pencil,  too  ? — do  you  see  it  write  ?  "  So  that  she 
evidently  saw  it,  just  as  I  did. 

All  this  time  both  Kate's  hands  were  on  the  table ;  for  I 
bethought  me  of  this,  even  at  that  moment. 

Then  was  spelled :  "  Don't  look !  "  and  I  withdrew  a  second 
time. 

Shortly  after,  by  the  raps:  "Put  hand  under  table."  I 
placed  my  left  hand  on  my  knee.  Thereupon  a  slip  of  paper 
was  gently  placed  in  my  hand,  and  the  tips  of  my  fingers  were 
distinctly  touched,  as  by  human  fingers.  I  brought  up  the  paper, 
laid  it  on  the  table  before  me,  and  replaced  my  hand.  Yery 
soon  something  was  put  into  it,  which,  by  the  touch,  I  knew 
to  be  a  wooden  pen-holder ;  and  that  also  I  laid  on  the  table. 

Some  time  after  this,  as  we  could  distinguish  nothing  but 
the  rustling  of  paper,  Kate  again  asked  if  an  illuminated  sheet 
could  not  be  laid  on  the  table.  In  a  short  time  what  seemed 
such  was  raised  a  little  above  the  height  of  the  table ;  tlien  if 
gradually  sank  down  again,  out  of  sight. 


ii  y 


378  SPECIMENS   OF   SPIRIT- WEITING. /^^         0^%^ 

After  a  considerable  interval  my  left  hand  was  again  toutJied 
by  a  piece  of  paper ;  but  it  dropped  before  I  conld  lay  hold  of  it. 

Another  interval,  and  we  had,  by  the  raps :  "  Light  the 
gas."  Only  then  I  released  Kate's  hands.  We  lit  the  gas, 
and  I  inimediacoly  examined  the  doors  of  the  room.  The  seals 
were  intact  and  the  strips,  connecting  them  with  the  door-sills, 
unbroken.  I  looked  around.  Everything  remained  just  as 
when  we  sat  down,  except  that  several  slips  of  paper  lay  scat- 
tered on  the  floor,  with  my  pencil  among  them  ;  while,  on  the 
table,  there  lay  the  single  slip  and  the  pen-holder  which  had 
been  handed  to  me. 

My  first  thought  was  that  I  was  now  qualified  to  swear  in  a 
court  of  justice,  had  that  been  necessary,  that,  during  this  sit- 
ting, Kate  and  I  had  been  the  sole  occupants  of  the  room. 

Then  I  examined  the  papers.  One,  that  on  the  table,  was 
written  in  ink ;  three  others,  on  the  floor,  in  pencil ;  two  or 
three  short  lines  on  each.  \  The  first  had  these  words : 

"  The  night  is  not  favorable  for  appearing.  I  will  soon  over- 
come difficulties.     You  shall  see  me,  believe  me." 

This,  though  legible,  was  evidently  written  by  a  very  bad  pen, 
which  sputtered  f  as  we  sometimes  say.  Witness  these  two  words : 

Here  is  a  fac-simile  of  the  writing  on  one  of  the  other  slips ; 
originally  in  pencil,  but  the  pencilling  carefully  inked  over  by 
ne,  to  preserve  it : 


WHAT  DO   THEY  PEOVE  ?  379 

On  one  of  the  other  slips  an  allusion  was  made  to  the  state 
of  the  atmosphere,  as  being  unfavorable  to  an  appearance  in 
bodily  form.  It  was,  in  effect,  a  murky  evening,  with  drizzling 
rain.  Such  weather,  as  I  had  repeatedly  verified,  is  unfavora- 
ble for  spiritual  experiments.  ** 

On  a  fourth  slip  there  was  expressed,  in  strong  terms,  the 
earnest  anxiety  of  the  writer  to  gratify  my  desire  for  an  ap- 
pearance, so  that  I  could  recognize  her  features.  * 

My  feelings,  when  I  had  carefully  examined  these  results,  are 
such  as  seldom  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  human  being. 

I  took  up  the  slip  that  was  written  in  ink.  Some  one — an 
intelligent  aorent,  a  denizen  of  this  world  or  of  another — had 
taken  up  the  pen-holder  that  lay  on  the  table  before  me,  had 
dipped  the  pen  in  ink,  and  had  written  these  lines.  The  same 
pen-holder  had  been  handed  to  me  under  the  table  by  some  in- 
visible agency.  And  all  this  had  happened  during  the  time  when 
the  only  two  hands  in  the  room  except  my  own  were  under  my 
grasp.     Then,  too,  I  had  heard  the  writing. 

I  took  up  the  steel-pen  and  tried  to  write  out  a  few  notes  ol 
our  session.  It  was  nearly  worn  out.  It  sputtered  in  my 
hands,  as  it  had  done  in  those  of  the  mysterious  writer.  After 
managing  to  write  a  few  lines,  I  relinquished  the  wretched  pen, 
as  she  had  done,  for  my  pencil. 

It  was  a  gold  one.  I  remarked  to  Kat«  what  a  heavy 
pencil  and  what  a  miserable  pen  they  had  been  obliged  to  em- 
ploy :  thus  writing  under  great  disadvantage. 

Were  these  spiritual  autographs  ?  What  else  ?  Had  I  not«een 
one  of  them  written  ?  Had  I  not  seen  one  of  these  slips,  illu- 
minated, rise  higher  than  the  table  and  then  sink  back  again  ? 
Had  I  not  felt  Kate's  two  hands  under  mine  at  the  very  time 
when  that  hand  wrote  and  that  paper  rose  and  feU  ?   Did  Kate 


*  Of  the  writer  whose  name  was  appended  to  each  of  these  commu- 
nications  I  shall  speak  at  large,  ia  the  chapter  entitled :  A  heauUfu* 
Spirit  manifesting  herself;  Book  iv.,  chap.  3. 


380  AEE  HUMAN   SENSES   UNTKU8TW0RTHY  ? 

write  eight  or  ten  lines  with  both  her  hands  clasped  ?  Did  1 
write  them  with  my  left  hand,  without  knowing  it  ?  Or  had 
Kate  brought  the  slips,  ready  written  ?  I  picked  them  up  and 
examined  them  critically,  one  by  one.  My  private  mark,  on 
one  corner  of  each — namely,  letters  of  the  German  alphabet, 
written  in  German  character — still  there  ! 

What  way  out  ? 

Are  the  senses  of  seeing  and  hearing  and  touch,  in  sane, 
liealthy  persons,  unworthy  to  be  trusted  ?  Then  of  what  value 
the  evidence  taken  in  a  criminal  court,  or  the  experiments 
made  in  a  chemist's  laboratory  ? 

For  me,  common  sense  bars  that  way  out.  I  believe  in  a 
phase  of  life,  succeeding  the  death  change.  I  see  nothing  un- 
likely— not  to  say  incredible — in  the  theory  that  God  may 
vouchsafe  to  man  sensible  proof  of  his  immortality.  And  thus 
I  accept  the  evidence  of  my  senses  when  they  inform  me  that 
human  beings  who  have  passed  to  another  phase  of  existence, 
are  sometimes  permitted  to  communicate,  from  beyond  tho 
earthly  bourn,  with  those  they  have  left  behind. 

For  others,  to  whom  spiritual  intercourse  seems  an  absurdity 
— for  those,  more  especially,  to  whom  the  hypothesis  of  another 
life  wears  the  aspect  of  a  baseless  dream — let  them  select  their 
own  path  out  of  the  difficulty.  I  think  that,  on  any  path  they 
may  take,  they  will  have  to  accept  theories  infinitely  less  tena- 
ble than  those  they  decide  to  reject. 

I  remark,  in  regard  to  the  foregoing  experiment,  that  the 
room  in  which  it  was  made  had  been  selected  by  me,  after  an- 
other had  been  proposed ;  also  that  I  expected  one  sort  of 
manifestation  and  obtained  something  quite  difierent.  The 
cliief  objection,  by  sceptics,  will  be  that  the  phenomena  oc- 
curred in  a  darkened  room.  But,  in  a  preceding  example,*  it 
has  been  shown  that  when  a  light  was  sprung  upon  spiritual 
phenomena  of  the  most  startling  character,  the  only  effect  wai 

•  See  chapter  1  of  Book  iii,,  preceding  page. 


PHENOMENA   BY   GAS-LIGHT.  381 

to  arrest  them,  withotit  disclosing  any  earthly  cause  for  their 
occuiTence. 

Yet  I  need  not  rest  the  case  here.  It  is  but  rarely,  and 
under  very  favorable  circumstances,  that  direct  writing  can  bo 
had  in  the  light.  Yet  it  can  sometimes  be  obtained.  "Witness 
the  following : 

Direct  Spirit-writing  by  Gas-light. 

At  Mr.  Underhill's  on  the  evening  of  September  3,  1861, 
in  the  back  room,  second  story.  Present,  Dr.  A.  D.  Wilson,* 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underbill  and  myself.  Precautions  in  regard  to 
locking  doors  and  the  like,  as  usual.  The  room  was  brightly 
lighted  during  the  entire  sitting.     We  sat  at  a  rectangular  table,  i 

thirty-three  inches  by  fifty-three,  which  had  no  drawers,  and  ^ 

from  which  we  had  removed  the  table-cover.     The  gas  lit  the  x>^ 
space  under  the  table,  so  that  we  could  inspect  it  at  any  time. 
I  sat  on  one  side  of  this  table,  Mrs.  Underbill  opposite ;  Mr. 
Underbill  at  one  end,  on  my  right,  and  Dr.  "Wilson  at  the 
other,  on  my  left. 

A  few  minutes  after  sitting  down  we  heard,  very  distinctly, 
the  jingling  of  an  iron  chain ;  then  a  sudden  stroke,  as  if  by  the 
point  of  a  blunt  dagger,  agaiust  the  under  side  of  the  table- 
top,  so  strongly  dealt  as  to  shake  the  whole  table;  then  a 
metallic  sound,  as  if  two  steel  rods  clashed  against  each  other ; 
then  a  jingling,  as  of  steel  rings. 

During  all  this  time,  as  I  particularly  remarked,  the  hands 
of  all  the  assistants  were  on  the  table ;  and  below  the  table 
there  was  notliing  to  be  seen,  for  I  looked  more  than  once. 

Then,  after  ^vitnessing  several  other  phenomena,  we  asked 
if  we  could  have  direct  writing  in  the  light ;  to  which  the  reply, 
by  raps,  was  in  the  affirmative.     Then  came  a  call  for  paper 

*  He  then  lived  in  East  Eleventh  street,  near  Broadway. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  careful  and  dispassionate  observers  I  have 
met  with,  and  he  expressed,  in  the  strongest  terms,  his  conviction  of 
the  conclusive  character  of  this  experiment. 


1 


382  A   KEMAEKABLE    EXAMPLE 

and  pencil.  I  myself  selected  a  sheet  from  the  middle  of  a 
quire  of  foolscap  and  examined  it  carefully  under  the  gas 
burner :  it  was  entirely  blank.  I  held  it  and  a  pencil  on  mj 
knee,  looking  under  the  table  as  I  did  so.  Scarcely  had  I 
looked  up  again,  to  be  assured  that  all  the  hands  of  the  assist- 
ants still  remained  on  the  table,  when  paper  and  pencil  were 
taken  from  me,  a  finger  distinctly  touching  mine,  as  they  were 
taken.  Then,  for  six  or  eight  seconds  we  heard  a  sound  resem- 
bling that  of  a  pencil  writing  rapidly  on  paper ;  and  instantly, 
before  I  had  time  to  look  again,  the  raps  spelled :  "  Take  it 
up."  I  did  so,  and  found  written  upon  it  in  pencil,  in  a  bold, 
rude,  dashing  hand,  the  words :  "  The  North  will  conquer^''  * 

The  t  in  the  word  "  North  "  is  crossed  with  a  sweeping  dash. 
"  Conquer  "  is  written  conq^  then  the  u  is  written  partly  over 
the  g,  and  the  final  e  and  r  run  into  one  another ;  but  the  word 
is  still  legible  enough,  f 

I  do  not  think  that  more  than  twenty,  or  at  most  twenty- 
five,  seconds  elapsed  from  the  moment  I  put  the  paper  under 
the  table  till  I  took  it  up,  written  as  above. 


^  ence 


1 


he  foregoing  may  suffice  as  far  as  regards  my  own  experi- 
ence in  this  matter.  I  add  here,  in  corroboration,  the  results 
obtained  by  two  friends  of  mine,  both  of  whom  have  been,  in 
some  respects,  even  more  highly  favored  than  myself,  in  the 
character  of  evidence  establishing  the  reality  of  spirit- writing. 

The  first,  obtained  by  artificial  light,  is  an  experience  of  Mr. 
Livermore,  of  New  York,  \  during  an  evening  session  with 
Kate  Fox,  on  the  eighteenth  of  August,  1861.  No  one  present 
but  the  medium  and  himself.     The  doors  locked  and  bolted ; 

*  The  reader  need  hardly  be  reminded  that  this  was  but  six  weeks 
after  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run;  at  one  of  the  darkest  epochs  of  the 
Great  Contest,  when  the  hopes  of  the  South  were  triumphant,  and  the 
North  was  just  beginning  to  take  heart,  aftet  so  severe  a  check. 

f  See  fac- simile  on  plate  I. 

\  Of  this  gentleman  and  of  the  wonderful  exi)erience3  he  has  had, 
touching  the  phenomenon  of  objective  apparitions,  I  have  spoken  at 
length,  in  Book  v. ,  chap.  4 ;  which  see. 


ov  fipmrr-wBiTmo. 


383 


K 


384 

the  windows  secured,  and  the  room  thoroughly  examined. 
Then  the  lights  extinguished.  Soon  an  oblong  light,  about  the 
size  and  shape  of  a  melon,  rested  on  the  table,  remaining  there 
a  considerable  time  without  moving.  Mr.  Livermore  asked 
if  it  could  rise ;  whereupon  it  rose  into  the  air,  flashing  out 
occasionally,  and  floating  about  the  room.  Finally  it  returned 
to  the  table,  shining  with  increased  brilliancy. 

Mr.  Livermore  had  brought  with  him  two  very  large,  blank 
cards,  eacli  with  a  private  mark,  hoping  to  obtain  direct  writ- 
ing. Theae  he  now  deposited,  together  with  a  small  silver 
pencil,  on  the  table,  near  the  light ;  at  the  same  time  securing 
both  hands  of  the  medium.  They  were  soon  taken  from  the 
table  and  carried  near  to  the  floor,  remaining  apparently  sus- 
pended, however,  some  three  or  four  inches  above  it ;  and  the 
light  was  so  moved  that  its  rays  fell  directly  upon  the  cards. 
What  Mr.  Livermore  then  saw  I  give  in  his  own  words,  copied 
from  the  record  he  himself  made  at  the  time  :  "  The  cards  be- 
came the  centre  of  a  circle  of  light  a  foot  in  diameter.  Care- 
fully watching  this  phenomenon,  I  saw  a  hand  holding  my  pencil 
over  one  of  the  cards.  This  hand  moved  quietly  across  from 
left  to  right,  and  when  one  line  was  finished,  moved  back 
to'commence  another.  At  first  it  was  a  perfectly-shaped  hand, 
afterward  it  became  a  dark  substance,  smaller  than  the  human 
hand,  but  still  apparently  holding  the  pencil,  the  writing  going 
on  at  intervals,  and  the  whole  remaining  visible  for  nearly  an 
hour.  I  can  conceive  of  no  better  evidence  for  the  reality  of 
spirit-writing.  Every  possible  precaution  against  deception 
had  been  taken.  I  held  both  hands  of  the  medium  throughout 
the  whole  time.  I  have  the  cards  still,  minutely  written  on 
both  sides ;  the  sentiments  there  expressed  being  of  the  most 
elevated  character,  pure  and  spiritual." 

The  italics  are  from  the  original  record.  Nearly  an  hour,  it 
will  be  observed,  the  phenomenon  continued  to  present  itself, 
and  under  a  bright  light,  even  if  one  not  kindled  by  human 
hand. 

But  the  next  example  occurred  in  broad  daylight.     It  was 


385 

communicated  to  me  by  one  of  the  witnesses  present,  at  first 
orally,  afterward  by  letter,  in  which  the  writer  kindly  per- 
mits me  to  use  her  name  ;  a  name  which  cannot  fail  to  secure, 
for  the  narration,  respect  and  consideration.  The  lady  is  the 
sister  of  Bancroft,  the  historian,  and  the  widow  of  John  Davis, 
formerly  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  best  remembered  in 
New  England  under  the  honorable  cognomen  of  "  honest  John 
Davis." 

The  circumstance  occurred  in  Mrs.  Davis's  dining-room,  in 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  the  medium  present  being  Mr. 
Willis,  formerly  a  student  of  Harvard  University,  and  who 
had  some  difficulty  there,  because  of  an  honest  avowal  of  his 
belief  in  the  epiphanies  of  Spiritualism.  *'  The  room,"  says 
Mrs.  Davis  in  her  note  to  me,  "  had  four  windows  facing  east, 
south,  and  west ;  the  hour  between  eleven  and  twelve,  a.m.  ; 
so  that  we  had  the  full  light  of  a  summer  sun,  shut  off  only  by 
green  blinds.  We  were  at  a  table  on  which  I  had  put  paper 
and  pencil ;  but  we  had  no  intention  of  forming  what  is  called 
a  circle :  we  merely  sat  chatting  of  some  wonderful  manifesta 
tions  wc  had  witnessed  the  evening  before." 

While  they  were  so  engaged,  the  pencil  rose  from  the  table, 
stood  at  the  usual  angle,  as  if  guided  by  a  human  hand,  though 
no  hand  was  to  be  seen,  and  began  to  write.  The  amazement  of 
Mrs.  Davis  may  be  imagined.  The  motion  of  the  pencil  was 
regular,  and  a  slight  scratching  sound  was  heard  as  it  moved. 
Both  Mrs.  Davis  and  Mr.  Willis  saw  and  heard  this  alike.  It 
wrote  a  brief  message  of  affection  from  a  dear  friend  of  Mrs. 
Davis,  deceased  some  years  before :  then  dropped  on  the  paper. 

The  evidence  in  this  case,  it  will  be  observed,  is  more  direct" 
than  in  any  of  the  Baron  de  Guldenstubbe's  experiments,  for 
he  did  not  see  the  writing  done ;  and  it  has  a  certain  advan- 
tage also  over  Mr.  Livermore's  experience  and  mine ;  seeing 
that,  in  both  our  cases,  the  light  was  artificial  ard  might  by 
some  be  thought  less  trustworthy  than  that  of  day. 

^^^lat  element  of  authenticity  is  lacking  here  ?     The  writing 
was  done  in  the  seeing  and  hearing  of  both,  and  in  broad  day- 
17 


386  WRTTING   ON  THE    HUMAN 

light.     For  anything  which  we  have  not  witnessed  ourselves, 
how  seldom  is  more  conclusive  testimony  to  be  had! 

Commending  these  various  experiments  to  the  critical  con* 
^ideration  of  the  candid  reader,  I  proceed  to  give  a  few  ex- 
amples of  another  species  of  writing,  often  discredited,  yet  of 
-^  which  I  have  had  proofs  which  I  find  it  impossible  to  set 
^!U^i)aside. 

Writing  on  the  human  Hand  and  Arm. 


Mr.  Robert  Chambers  and  myself  were  well  acquainted  with 

a  gentleman  whom  I  shall  call  Mr.  M ,  not  being  at  liberty 

to  give  the  real  name.  He  is  one  among  the  most  successful 
and  best-known  business  men  of  our  country;  not  a  resident  of 
ITnOw  York. 

At  the  time  I  am  speaking  of,  however,  he  was  on  a  visit  to 
that  city ;  and  Mr.  Chambers  and  I  induced  him  to  call,  with 
us,  on  Mr.  Charles  Foster,  one  of  the  very  best  test-mediums  I 

have  ever  known.     Mr.  M was  an  unbeliever  in  spiritual 

phenomena,  unacquainted  with  Mr.  Foster,  and  agreed  to  visit 
him  merely  to  gratify  Mr.  Chambers'  wish  and  miae.  We 
had  given  Mr.  Foster  no  notice  of  our  visit,  and  we  did  not 

make  Mr.  M 's  name  known  to  him.     We  sat  down  to  an 

ordinary-sized  centre-table. 

After  several  remarkable  phenomena  which  I  omit,  Mr. 
M expressed  a  wish  for  a  test  of  the  reality  of  spirit-inter- 
course. Thereupon  Mr.  Foster  requested  him  to  think  of  a 
deceased  friend.  Then  he  bade  him  write,  on  one  slip  of  pa- 
per, a  number  o? first  names,  among  them  the  first  name  of  his 
friend  ;  and  on  another  slip  a  number  oi family  names,  among 
them  the  family  name  of  his  friend,  keeping  the  writing  con- 
cealed.    Mr.  M wrote  out  both  lists  accordingly ;  the  total 

number  of  names  being  twenty -three.  At  Mr.  Foster's  request 
he  then  tore  the  names  asunder,  made  up  each  separately 
in  a  pellet,  and  held  these  pellets  under  the  tabic,  in  his  liaud, 
the  palm  open.     Then  Mr.  Foster,  who  \^'as  sitting  ojiposite  to 


ARM    THROUGH   MR.   FOSTER.  387 

Mr.  M ,  taking  up  my  hat,  held  it  by  one  hand  uiider  the 

table  and  said :  "  Spirit,  will  you  please  select  the  two  pellets 
that  have  your  name  and  surname,  from  that  gentleman's  hand, 
and  put  them  in  Mr.  Owen's  hat?"  In  somewhat  less 
than  a  minute  raps  came,  Mr.  Foster  brought  up  the  hat,  and 
handed   two   pellets   which   it   contained,  unopened,  to   Mr. 

M .     The  latter  undid  them,  without  showing  them  to  any 

of  us,  and  merely  said :  "  These  are  the  two  pellets  with  the  name 
and  family  name  of  my  friend."  Then  Mr.  Foster,  suddenly 
exclaiming  "  Here  is  his  first  name  on  my  arm,"  bared  his  arm 
and  we  saw,  written  on  it,  in  large  jjink  letters,  the  word  Beth. 
After  a  minute  or  two,  as  we  were  looking  at  the  writing,  it 
faded  out  and  Mr.  Foster  asl  ed  :  "  Will  the  spirit  write  the  first 
letter  of  his  family  name  on  the  back  of  my  hand  ?  "  holding  it 
out.  We  watched  it  closely  :  there  was  not  the  least  mark  on 
it.  But,  after  the  lapse  of  a  short  time,  pink  marks  began  to 
appear,  gradually  growing  more  plain,  until  we  all  saw,  and 
read,  very  distinctly  written  near  the  centre  of  the  back  of  Mr. 
Foster's  hand,  the  capital  letter  C.     Then,  for  the  first  time, 

Mr.  M showed  us  the  two  pellets.     The  name  was  Seth 

C.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Foster  then  inquired  of  Mr.  M if  the  spirit  was  a 

relative  of  his ;  and  when  the  other  replied  that  it  was,  Mr.  Fos- 
ter sat,  lis  if  musing,  for  a  minute  or  two ;  then  turned  to  Mr. 
M ,  saying :  "  Ah  !  it  comes  to  me  :  it  is  your  father-in- 
law." 

Mr.  C.  .  .  .  wa^  Mr.  M 's  father-in-law,  as  that  gentle- 
man then  informed  us  ;  but  until  that  moment  the  fact  was  not 
known  either  to  Mr.  Chambers  or  to  myself.* 

Several  times  during  this  session,  Mr.  M became  ex- 
tremely pale,  and  more  than  once,  exclaimed  in  surprise.  I 
did  not  share  his  astonishment,  because,  the  day  before  (Sep- 

*  A  record  of  this  sitting  was  made  the  same  day  and  submitted  by 
me,  for  revision,  to  Mr.  Chambers.  That  gentleman  was  then  on  a 
visit  to  this  country.  He  took  the  deepest  interest  in  such  -experi- 
ments. 


SS8  A   LETTER    APPEARS    AND   FADES 

tember  28),  I  had  had  a  private  sitting  with  Foster  where  1  ob- 
tained  a  test,  perhaps  even  more  satisfactory  than  the  above, 
seeing  tliat  it  came  at  my  own  request.  I  begged  Foster  tc 
bare  his  arm  and  I  said :  '*  Can  I  have  the  first  letter  of  th(» 
family  name  of  a  deceased  friend  of  whom  I  am  thinking  wrii 
ten  there  ?  "  I  kept  my  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  the  arm,  after  a 
time  the  letter  W  gradually  appeared,  then,  as  gradually,  fader" 
out  again.    That  was  the  first  letter  of  the  name  I  had  thought  of. 

Two  marvels  here :  an  answer  to  a  mental  question,  and 
writing  upon  a  human  arm  before  my  eyes  and  in  reply  to  an 
unexpected  request. 

More  tiian  a  year  after  this  I  had,  also  through  Mr.  Foster, 
a  similar  Lest ;  and  as  my  notes,  taken  on  that  occasion,  describe 
the  appearance  minutely,  I  add  the  record  here,  at  the  risk  ot 
being  tedious. 

The  Letter  F. 

A  circle  of  eight  persons  had  assembled,  on  the  evening  of 
November  15,  1861,  to  meet  Mr.  Foster.  It  was  at  a  well- 
kno^vn  house  in  East  Twentieth  Street,  New  York ;  the  dwell- 
ing of  two  ladies,  both  earnest  spiritualists,  and  of  whom  our 
country  has  recently  had  to  mourn  the  loss,  Alice  and  Phoebe 
Gary. 

"We  had  all  been  invited,  early  in  the  evening,  to  write  one 
or  more  names,  of  deceased  friends,  each  on  a  small  bit  of  pa- 
per ;  and  to  fold  these  up  tightly  and  mix  them  in  the  centre  of 
the  table.  There  were  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  in  all, 
thus  promiscuously  placed  together. 

From  time  to  time  Mr.  Foster  addressed  some  message  to 
one  or  other  of  our  party,  and,  at  the  close  of  each  message,  he 
selected  one  of  the  bits  of  paper  and  handed  it  unopened,  to  the 
party  addressed.  In  every  case,  the  message  was  appropriate  and 
the  name  was  given  to  the  right  person.  In  six  dilferent  cases  the 
name  of  the  deceased  friend  was  written  in  full,  on  Mr.  Foster's 
arm;  but  the  arm  was  not  bared  beforehand,  the  writing  ap- 
peared when  ho  drew  up  his  sleeve. 


EYES.  889 

Wlien  some  eight  or  ten  bits  of  paper  only  remained,  I  said 
to  Mr.  Foster:  "There  is  a  name  "written  by  me  among  those 
you  have  not  yet  distributed.  Do  you  think  you  could  get  the 
first  letter  of  it  on  your  arm  ?  "  I  was  going  to  add  "  and  I 
should  like  you  to  bare  your  arm  before  it  is  written ;"  but  I 
refi-aiued,  lest  Mr.  Foster  should  think  that  I  entertained  a 
suspicion  which  I  did  not  feel. 

Mr.  Foster  sat  silent  for  a  minute  or  two,  both  his  hands 
resting  passively  on  the  table  the  while ;  then  he  said  to  me : 
**  You  are  to  look  at  my  wrist :"  at  the  same  time  extending 
toward  me  the  left  arm  with  the  hand  downward  and  the  fist 
clenched,  and  drawing  back  his  sleeve  so  as  to  expose  three  or 
four  inches  of  the  wrist.  I  observed  that  it  was  free  from  all 
mark  whatever,  and  it  remained  so  for  about  one  minute.  Then 
a  faint  pink  stroke  appeared  across  it  which,  in  about  half  a 
i^iinute  more,  having  gradually  increased  in  distinctness,  became 
a  capital  F.  It  extended  almost  across  the  wrist,  near  to 
where  it  joins  the  hand  ;  and  the  top  of  the  F,  being  the  last 
part  of  the  letter  which  appeared,  crossed  into  the  back  of  the 
hand.  The  letter  was  formed  by  pink  lines,  about  as  thick  as 
the  down-strokes  in  ordinary  text-hand.  It  was  the  written, 
not  the  printed  character;  and  though  it  appeared  as  if  wiitten 
hastily  or  carelessly,  it  was  unmistakably  distinct  and  legible ; 
so  that  each  member  of  the  circle,  when  it  was  shown  to  them, 
recognized  it  at  once.  It  remained  visible  for  as  much  as  two 
or  three  minutes ;  and  then  faded  away,  while  we  were  looking 
at  it,  as  gi-adually  as  it  had  appeared. 

Then  Mr.  Foster  picked  up  the  folded  bits  of  paper,  one  after 
another,  until,  as  he  touched  one,  there  were  three  raps.  That 
one  he  handed  to  me.  It  was  the  one  on  which  I  had  written 
"  Florence,"  the  name  of  a  daughter  of  mine  whom  I  had  lost 
ill  infancy  twenty  years  before.  Neither  Mr.  Foster,  nor  any 
member  of  the  circle,  knew  that  I  had  lost  a  daughter,  nor  had 
the  name  ever  before  come  up,  at  any  of  our  sittings.    • -"'' 

Was  the  particular  character  of  this  test — stricter  than  that 
of  any  other  obtained  during  the  evening — determined  by  my 


390  CAN  OITE  HAVE  BETTEE  PEOOFI 

anexpressed  wish  to  see  the  writing  while  in  progress  of  foi> 
mation?  The  important  thing  is  correctly  to  state  the  circam? 
stances :  let  the  reader  make  his  own  deductions. 

The  feeling,  as  the  letter  grew  under  my  gaze,  was  somewhat 
like  that  I  remember  to  have  had  when,  for  the  first  time,  un- 
der the  microscope,  I  witnessed  the  sudden  coming  into  exist- 
ence of  crystals. 

Space  fails  me  to  say  more  touching  spirit-writing.  In  the 
way  of  recital  can  stronger  proof  be  given  ?  Let  those  who 
still  doubt  test  the  matter  for  themselves. 


CHAPTER  rV. 

Spirit  Touches. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1858,  then  living  at  Naples,  I  had 
four  sittings  with  a  medium  of  world-wide  reputation,  D.  Dun- 
glas  Home ;  and,  in  his  presence,  I  witnessed  a  phenomenon 
which  no  earnest  thinker  can  witness,  believing  it  to  be  genuLue, 
without  a  strange  feeling  that  he  is  brought  near  to  the  next 
world. 

The  sessions  were  held  in  the  parlor  of  my  apartments  on  the  \ 
Chiaja :  present,  besides  my  family  and  the  medium,  the  Count 
d'Aquila;  or,  as  we  usually  called  him,  Prince  Luigi,  third 
brother  of  the  King  of  Naples.  They  were  evening  sessions, 
the  room  brightly  lighted.  "We  sat  at  a  centre-table,  three  feet 
nine  inches  in  diameter,  and  weighing,  with  the  lamp  on  it,  M 
ninety  pounds.  ^^^'^ 

During  the  second  session  we  were  all  touched  in  succession ; 
and  this  was  preceded  by  a  singular  manifestation.  At  various 
points  all  round  the  table,  the  table-cover  was  pushed  outward, 
and  occasionally  upward  at  the  edge  of  the  table-top,  as  by  a 
hand  underneath.  Mrs.  Owen  touched  it  and  felt,  through  the 
cover,  what  seemed  a  small  human  hand,  doubled  up.  By  the 
raps  it  was  alleged  that  it  was  our  eldest  daughter,  Florence, 
wrhom  we  had  lost  when  an  infant. 

Then  Mrs.  Owen's  dress  was  pulled,  on  the  side  farthest  from 
Mr.  Home,  as  often  as  eight  or  ten  times,  and  so  strongly  that 
Mrs.  Owen  says  had  she  been  asleep  it  would  certainly  have 
awoke  her :  and,  as  it  was,  it  instantly  arrested  her  attention. 
She  saw  her  dress  move  each  time  it  was  pulled. 

Then  she  asked  that  it  might  touch  me  three  times,  which  it 
did  instantly  and  quite  distinctly.  Then  I  put  on  my  knee  mj 
hand  covered  with  a  handkerchief^  and,  at  my  request,  it  im- 


V 


392  SPIRIT-TOUCHES  OBTAINED 

mediately  touched  my  hand  through  the  handkerchief.  Then 
Mrs.  Owen  invited  it  to  touch  her  hand  which  she  placed,  un- 
covered, under  the  table  :  upon  which  it  went  under  one  of  the 
flounces  of  her  dress  and  touched  her  hand  through  the  silk ' 
but  did  not  touch  the  bare  hand. 

When  under  the  table-cover,  on  the  opposite  side  from  Mr. 
Home,  it  tapped  three  times  on  Mrs.  Owen's  hand,  when  she 
put  it  against  the  cover. 

All  this  time  Mr.  Hom^s  hands  were  resting  on  the  table,  and 
immediately  afterward  the  table  rose  entirely  off  the  floor  some 
four  or  five  inches,  and  was  carried  about  twelve  inches  toward 
where  Mrs.  Owen  sat,  and  there  set  down  again,  Mrs.  Owen 
rising  :  then  raised  a  second  time  and  carried  about  six  inches 
farther  in  the  same  direction.  This  time  the  foot  of  the  table 
rested  on  Mrs.  Owen's  dress ;  and  had  to  be  removed  to  extri- 
cate it. 

Then  a  large  arm-chair,  weighing  forty-eight  pounds,*  and 
standing  empty  behind  Mr.  Home  and  about  four  feet  and  a 
half  from  the  arm-chair  in  which  he  sat,  moved  suddenly  and 
very  swiftly  close  up  to  the  table  between  Mr.  Home  and  MrSc 
Owen.  Sitting  opposite  to  them,  I  happened  to  be  looking  in 
that  direction  at  the  moment,  and  saw  it  start.  It  moved  so 
suddenly  and  rapidly,  that  I  expected  it  to  strike  with  force 
against  the  table ;  but  it  stopped,  as  suddenly,  within  an  inch 
or  two  of  it,  and  without  touching.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  it 
moved  on  castors.  Mr.  Home  was,  at  that  moment,  sitting 
close  to  the  table,  with  both  hands  lightly  resting  on  it,  and 
without  the  slightest  appearance  of  any  muscular  effort. 
""^^  During  the  next  session,  April  6,  the  touchings  were  re- 
peated ;  f  and  still  more  distinctly,  during  the  fourth  sitting  on 

*  I  had  chair,  table,  and  lamp  carefully  weighed,  and  recorded  the 
weight  at  the  time. 

f  A  phenomenon  which  ocenrred  during  this  sitting  is  well  worth 
recording.  All  our  chairs  were  shaken,  as  distinctly  as  during  an  earth- 
quake (we  had  a  violent  one,  while  I  was  in  Naples,  so  that  I  speak  here 
by  the  book) ;  yet  the  table,  the  whUe,  remained  motionless.    Then  the 


THEOTJGH    MK.   HOME.  393 

Apiil  12 ;  on  which  occasion  the  hand  touched  was  uncovered. 
Here  is  the  record :  "  Mrs.  Owen's  hand,  placed  on  her  kne« 
under  the  cloth,  was  touched  with  what  exactly  resembled  to 
the  touch  a  human  hand,  soft,  moderately  warm,  and  a  little 
moist.  The  touch  was  on  Mrs.  Owen's  bare  hand,  and  was  so 
distinct  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  mistaking  it.  Mi-s. 
Owen,  having  on  two  previous  evenings,  witnessed  the  same 
phenomenon,  was  quite  self-possessed,  and  she  stated  to  me  that 
she  felt  not  the  least  nervousness  or  alarm. 

"  Prince  Luigi  was  touched  repeatedly,  as  we  were ;  and  he 
afterward  expressed  to  me,  in  unqualified  terms,  his  conviction 
that  the  phenomena  we  had  witnessed  were  genuine.  He  had 
had  previous  experience  of  his  own."  * 

Soon  after  my  return  to  this  country^  I  had  evidence  confirm- 
atory of  this  phenomenon. 


diahs  ceased  their  motion,  and  the  table  was  similarly  agitated.    Then, 
at  request,  tbe  table  ceased  its  motion,  and  that  of  the  chairs  recom-  \      . 
menced  :  and  so  on,  several  times ;  the  change  from  one  motion  to  the  \    Q 
other  being  instantaneous.     I  know  of  no  human  force  that  could  imi-  Xj 
tate  this.     Machinery  there  was  none,  for  it  was  in  my  own  parlor.     It    \ 
was  evidently  not  the  floor  that  was  shaken,  or  that  commimicated 
motion  either  to  the  table  or  to  the  chairs. 

*  Here  is  an  item  from  his  experience.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
sometimes  (as  on  after  reflection  he  concluded)  pressed  with  unwar- 
rantable eagerness  for  answers;  and,  for  a  time,  could  obtain  nothing 
more.     On  one  occasion,  when  he  had  done  so,  there  was  spelled  out : 

"•  Tu  es  un  vrai  diable." 

The  Pnnce.—'''  De  qui  parle  fcu?" 

Answer. — "De  toi,  Louis  de  Bourbon." 

French  and  English  magnetizers  agree  in  stating  that  somnambulea 
are  wont  to  use  the  familiar  tu  and  du  to  persons  whom  in  their  waking 
state  they  always  addressed  either  by  their  titles,  or  else  using  the  formal 
vous  and  Sie.  See,  for  an  example :  Histoire  de  la  Guerison  d'unejeuns 
'f^raonne  par  le  Magnetisme  Animal^  produit  par  la  Nature  eG^-nume; 
by  tha  Baron  F.  C.  De  Strombeck :  Paris,  1814,  p.  38.  "  Jamais  eUe 
ne  m'avoit  tutoye." 

In  the  spiritual  realm,  it  would  seem,  there  is  no  respect  of  persons. 
-Acts  X.  34. 

17* 


394  SPIEIT-TOUCHES    OBTAINED 


Spirit  Touches  by  bright  Gas-light. 

Session  of  October  23,  1860,  held  in  Mr.  TJnderhill's  dining, 
room  in  the  evening.  Present  Mr.  and  Mrs.  TJnderhill,  Mr. 
TJnderhill's  father  (Levi  Underbill),  Mrs.  Price,  of  Westchester, 
and  myself.    The  usual  precautions  taken  as  to  locking  doors,  etc. 

Spelled  out  by  raps : . "  Look  under  the  table."  I  did  so  very 
carefully.     There  was  nothing  there. 

After  a  time  it  spelled,  "  Put  handkerchief  over  hand."  I 
asked  :  **  Is  that  addressed  to  me  ?  "  Answer :  "  Yes."  I  put 
my  right  hand,  covered,  under  the  table. 

Then  it  spelled :  "  Lower."  I  reached  down  as  far  as  I 
could. 

At  this  moment  all  the  assistants  had  their  hands  on  the 
table,  in  sight.  Mrs.  Underbill  suggested  that  we  join  hands. 
We  did  so :  but  as  my  right  hand  was  underneath  the  table, 
Mrs.  Price,  who  sat  next  to  me,  put  her  hand  on  my  shoulder, 
to  complete  the  circle. 

In  about  two  minutes  after  this  circle  was  thus  formed,  my 
hand  was  laid  hold  of  and  pressed  by  the  fingers  of  a  hand,  as 
I  felt  Avith  unmistakable  certainty.  Then  I  asked  to  have  the 
hand  touch  me  once  more.  It  did  so  ;  and,  this  time,  it  was 
the  points  of  the  fingers  that  were  pressed  against  my  hand : 
I  felt  the  sharp  impression  of  the  nails. 

During  the  whole  of  this  time  the  gas  was  burning  brightly, 
and  the  circle  of  joined  hands  was  maintained.  During  the 
whole  time  the  hands  of  all  the  assistants  were  in  sight,  and  I 
kspt  my  eye  on  them. 

But  for  the  reminder,  by  the  raps,  to  look  under  the  table 
before  the  experiment  began,  I  might  have  omitted  to  take  that 
precaution. 

A  year  later  I  had  a  similar  experience,  also  in  the  light. 

It  Was  during  the  session,  already  noticed,  of  September  3, 
1801,  when  we  obtained  direct  writing  by  gas-light  :*  Dr.  Wil 

*  See  preceding  page. 


THROUGH    LEAH   FOX.  395 

son  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underhill  present.  The  table  thirty, 
three  inches  by  fifty-three;  without  drawers  and  without 
cloth. 

It  spelled :  *'  Put  down  hand."  I  put  my  left  hand  under 
t]i(^  table.  My  foot  was  touched  and  pressed  and  my  leg  was 
seized,  as  by  the  firm  grasp  of  a  strong  hand ;  but  my  hand  was 
not  touched. 

Then  it  spelled :  "  Handkerchief."  As  soon  as  I  covered 
my  hand  it  was  touched,  through  the  handkerchief,  as  by  a 
large  Ad  ^er.  Then  my  fingers  were  grasped  firmly,  as  by  two 
fingers  And  a  thumb.  Then,  a  third  time,  my  fingers  were 
grasped  and  tightly  pressed  as  by  three  fingers  and  a  thumb  of 
a  large,  strong  hand. 

After  a  time,  fingers  apparently  of  a  small  hand  were  laid 
lightly  on  mine  :  and,  by  delicate  raps,  it  was  spelled ;  "  Yiolet 
touch''  d  you  last." 

'J 'bis  experiment  was  made  in  a  room  brightly  lighted,  with- 
out any  cloth  on  the  t^ble,  and  with  the  hands  of  every  assist- 
ant full  in  sight. 

Some  readers,  theorizing  only,  may  persuade  themselves  that 
a  single  sense,  especially  that  of  touch,  is  insujfficient  evidence 
in  cases  like  the  foregoing.  Let  them  try  the  experiment.  Let 
them  try,  when  they  find  themselves  laid  hold  of  by  a  hand, 
vigorous  and  real,  as  firmly  as  by  the  grasp  of  a  cordial  friend, 
to  set  it  down  as  pure  imagination  and  to  rest  in  the  convic- 
tion that  they  have  not  been  touched  at  all.  Short  of  Pyrrhon- 
ism, they  will  not  succeed.  When  through  the  avenues  ol 
actual  sensation  the  testimony  comes,  they  will  find  out,  like 
Thomas,  what  are  the  difficulties  of  disbelief. 

I  here  close  my  record  of  manifestations  such  as  are  usually 
called  physical ;  and  proceed  to  consider  a  problem  of  more 
intricate  character :  that  which  relates  to  the  identity  of  spirits. 


BOOK  I^. 


IDENTITY    OF    SPIRITa 


CHAPTER   I. 


STUBBORN   FACTS    CONNECTING   TWO    WORLDS. 

"3  HERE  is,  among  spiritual  phenomena,  a  class,  rare  of  >cc  ni> 
rence,  but  wonderfully  convincing  when  we  happen  tc  meet 
with  them.  They  teach  us  much  more  than  the  reality  of  the 
next  world,  invaluable  as  that  truth  iSf.  They  give  us  glimpses 
into  that  world,  dissipating  many  preconceptions  touching  its 
character  and  its  inhabitants.  We  learn  from  them  that  our 
friends  there  may  still  have  earthly  thoughts  and  human  sym- 
pathies ;  may  still  recognize  us ;  may  still,  for  a  time,  interest 
themselves  even  in  petty  matters  that  are  going  on  in  the  world 
they  have  left.  They  do  not,  by  any  means,  prove  to  us  that 
every  ultramundane  communication  is  truly  from  the  spirit  who 
professes  to  communicate  ;  but  they  do  prove  to  us  that  this  is 
sometimes  the  case.  In  doing  so,  they  establish,  in  certain 
cases,  the  identity  of  spirits.  They  give  us  satisfactory  assur- 
ance that  we  shall  recognize  our  friends  in  the  next  world,  and 
that  we  shall  find  them  there  much  less  changed  than  theologi- 
cal fancy  has  painted  them. 

Such  proofs  are  the  more  valuable  when  they  come  unso-ight, 
unexpected,  at  first  unwelcome  even,  in  the  privacy  of  home: 
where  we  cannot  imagine  motive  for  deception,  nor  chance  of 
juggler's  trick. 

I  am  fortunate  in  being  able  to  supply  such  an  example, 


GETTINQ    OVEE  A    PREJUDICE.  397 

fiimisJied  to  me  by  friends  in  whose  good  faith  and  sagacity 
1  have  entire  confidence.  I  know  the  names  of  all  the  parties 
whose  initials  are  given  in  the  following  narrative ;  and  if  I 
am  not  permitted  to  publish  them,  in  attestation,  the  world 
has  itself  to  blame.  When  society,  learning  to  treat  upright 
ness  with  respect,  ceases  to  denounce  or  to  ridicule  such  testi- 
mony as  this,  it  will  be  time  enough  for  it  to  condemn  the 
reticence  of  those  who  meanwhile  seek  refuge  from  such  injus- 
tice under  an  anonymous  veil. 


A  Spirit  arranging  its  Worldly  Affairs. 

Mrs.  G ,  wife  of  a  captain  in  the  regular  army  of  the 

United  States,  was  residing,  in  1861,  with  her  husband,  in 
Cincinnati.  Before  that  time  she  had,  of  course,  often  heard 
of  spiritual  experiences  ;  but  she  had  avoided  all  opportunities 
to  examine  the  reality  of  these,  regarding  the  seeking  of  com- 
munications from  another  world  as  a  sin.  She  had  never  seen 
what  is  called  a  professional  medium. 

It  so  happened  that,  in  the  above  year,  a  lady  of  her  ac- 
quaintance, Mrs.  C ,  found  that  she  (Mrs.  C )  had  the 

power  to  obtain  messages  through  raps ;  and  she  occasionally 
sat,  for  that  purpose,  with  some  of  her  intimate  friends  ;  among 
the  rest  with  Mrs.  G .  These  sessions,  continued  through- 
out the  years  1861   and   1862,  in  a  measure  overcame  Mrs. 

G 's  aversion  to  the  subject  ;  awakening  her  curiosity  but 

failing  to  bring  full  conviction. 

In  December,  1863,  her  husband's  brother  Jack  (as  he  was 
familiarly  called)  died  suddenly. 

In  March,  1864,  Mrs.  G ,  then  in  the  quiet  of  a  country 

residence  near  Cincinnati,  received  a  visit  from  a  friend,  Miss 

L B .     This  lady  having  power  as  a  medium,  Mrs. 

G and  she  had  a  session  one  day.     After  a  time  the  young 

lady  rose  and  Mrs.  G remained  alone.     Thereupon,  with 

her  hands  only  lightly  touchiug  the  table,  it  moved  across  the 
•-oom  in  which  they  had  been  sitting,  and,  through  an  open 


398  HOW  A   SPIRIT   AIDED 

dooi,  into  a  room  adjoining.     Later  it  moved,  in  Mrs.  G 'a 

presence,  without  being  touclied.     Thus,  for  the  first  time,  she 
discovered  her  own  powers. 

Sitting  down  again  with  Miss  B ,  the  name  of  "  Jack ' 

was  unexpectedly  spelled  out. 

Mrs.   G asked :    "Is  there  anything  you  wish  done, 

brother  ?  "     The  reply  was  :  "  Give  Anna  that  ring." 

Now  Anna  M was  the  name  of  a  young  lady  to  whom. 

at  the  time  of  his  death,  the  brother  was  betrothed.     Mrs 

G did  not  know  what  ring  was  meant ;  but  she  remem 

bered  that  when  Jack  died,  a  plain  gold  ring — the  only  one  he 
wore — ^had  been  presented  by  her  husband  to  a  friend  of  his 

brother,  a  Mr.  G .     She  asked  if  that  was  the  ring,  and  th<^ 

reply  was  in  the  affirmative. 

Some   days   after   this   Jack's   mother   paid   them   a  visit 
Nothing  was  said  to  her  of  the  above  communication.     In  the 

course  of  conversation  she  told  them  that  Miss  Anna  M 

had  called  upon  her  ;  had  stated  that  she  had  given  to  Jack,  at 
the  time  of  their  betrothal,  a  plain  gold  ring  and  that  she 

wished  to  have  it  again.     Mrs.  G and  her  husband  were 

both  ignorant  that  the  ring  in  question  had  been  Miss  B 's ; 

Jack  never   having  said   anything  to   them  on   the  subject. 
Measures  were  taken  to  have  the  ring  returned. 

Some  time  after  Jack's  death  three  persons,  G ,  C , 

and  S ,  came,  severally,  to   Captain   G and  told  him 

that  his  brother  had  died  indebted  to  them.     He  requested 
them  to  send  in  their  bills  in  writing. 

Meanwhile,   not  knowing   anything   of  debts   due   by   hia 

brother  to  these  individuals.  Captain  G asked  Mrs.  G 

to  have  a  session,  hoping  to  obtain  some  information  on  the 
subject.     The  following  was  the  result. 

Jack  announced  himself  and  his  brother  asked: 

"  Did  you  owe  G at  the  time  of  your  death  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  How  much  ?  " 

"  Thirty-five  dollars." 


m  SETTLING  ITS  ACCOUNTS.  399 

«  Were  you  indebted  to  C ?  ^ 

«« Yes." 

"How  much?" 

"  Fifty  dollars." 

"  And  how  much  to  S ?  " 

"  Nothing." 

"  But  S says  he  has  a  bill  against  you  ?  " 

**It  is  not  just.  I  did  borrow  of  him  forty  dollars,  but  I 
gave  him  fifty  dollars.  He  repaid  me  seven  only,  and  still 
owes  me  three." 

G 's  bill,  when  afterward  presented,  was  for  thirty-five 

dollars,  and  C 's  for  fifty.     S handed  in  a  bill  for  forty 

dollars.     When  Captain  G said,  on  its  presentation,  that 

Jack  had  repaid  him  fifty,  S became  confused  and  said  ho 

*'  thought  that  was  intended  for  a  gift  to  his  (S 's)  sister." 

Captain  G afterward  asked,  through  the  table : 

*'  Jack,  do  you  owe  any  one  else  ?  " 

*'  Yes ;  John  Gr ,  for  a  pair  of  boots,  ten  dollars." 

[Neither  Captain  nor  Mrs.  G knew   anything  of  this 

iebt.] 

" Does  any  one  owe  you?  " 

"  Yes ;  C G owes  me  fifty  dollars." 

Captain  G applied  to  C G ,  asking  him  whether 

he  had  been  indebted  to  his  brother  Jack. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied  ;  "  fifteen  doUars." 

"  But  he  lent  you  fifty  dollars." 

"  That  is  true ;  but  I  repaid  him  all  but  fifteen  dollars." 

"  You  have  receipts,  I  suppose  ?  " 

C G promised  to  look  for  them;  but  afterward 

came  and  paid  the  fifty  dollars. 

Finally  Captain  G called  on  Mr.  Gr ,  the  shoe- 
maker, who  had  sent  in  no  bill.  Wishing  to  make  the  test  as 
complete  as  possible,  he  said : 

"  Do  I  owe  you  a  bill,  Mr.  Gr ?  " 

"  No,  sir.     You  have  paid  for  all  you  had  of  me." 


100  THE   SHOEMAKER. 

Captain  G turned,  as  if  to  go ;  whereupon  the  shoe> 

maker  added : 

"  But  your  brother,  Mr.  Jack,  who  died,  left  a  small  accouui 
unpaid." 

"What  was  it  for?" 

"  A  pair  of  boots." 

*'  And  your  charge  for  them  ?  " 

"  Ten  dollars." 

**  Mr.  Gr ,  there  is  your  money." 

The  above  was  related  to  me  by  Captain  and  Mrs.  G • 

during  a  visit  I  made  to  them  at  their  country  residence.* 

If,  by  way  of  explaining  the  above,  we  imagine  deliberate, 
circumstantial,  motiveless  falsehood  in  persons  of  the  utmost 
respectability,  of  earnest  character  and  of  unblemished  repu- 
tation, we  violate  all  received  rules  of  evidence.  But  if  we 
admit  the  facts,  what  theory  which  does  not  admit  the  reality 
of  spirit-communication  will  suffice  to  account  for  the  above  ? 
How  explain  away  these  stubborn  links,  actual,  tangible,  thus 
unmistakably  connecting  the  spiritual  with  the  material — the 
Nvorld  yet  concealed  from  our  view  with  that  other  world,  not 
more  real,  which  lies  around  us,  palpable  to  the  senses  ? 

And  what  stronger  proof  could  well  be  given  of  the  identity 
of  a  communicating  spirit  than  these  simple,  homely  details 
supply? 

If  it  seem  to  us  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  our  spirit- 
ual abode  that  its  denizens  should  still  be  able  to  recall  trifling 
details  of  their  earthly  life,  let  us  bear  in  mind  that,  without 
Buch  memory  of  past  incidents,  the  natural  consequences  of 
well-doing  and  evil-doing  would  not  follow  us  to  the  next 
world.  We  cannot  repent  of  sin  if  we  cannot  call  to  mind  its 
commission :  and  even  Heaven  would  be  a  curse  if  there  we 

*  April  9,  1865.   I  took  notes,  the  same  day,  from  which  I  wrote  out 

the  above  narrative.     I  afterward  submitted  it  to  Captain  G ,  for 

correction  and  approval  He  had  kept  a  record  of  these  various  com- 
munications and  of  the  attendant  circumstances,  at  the  time  ;  and  so 
was  able  to  give  me  every  particular  with  exactitude. 


A  DOCTOR  IN   CHUECH.  401 

remembered  our  evil  deeds  only.  On  the  other  hand  we  ma^ 
reasonably  conclude  that,  as  children  when  they  advance  in 
years  put  away  childish  things,  so  will  it  be  with  spirits,  aa 
they  go  up  higher.  Petty  interests  will  fade  from  our  thoughts, 
to  be  rei)laced  by  the  momentous  concerns  of  a  better  life. 
And  this  will  doubtless  happen  at  an  earlier  or  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, in  proportion  as  the  actor  in  these  new  scenes  had  been 
spiritually-minded,  or  the  reverse,  during  his  sojourn  upon  earth. 

I  add  here  another  incident  which  has  its  peculiar  interest 
aside  from  the  proof  of  identity  which  it  supplies.  It  fur- 
nishes an  example  of  the  gift  called  by  St.  Paul  the  "  discern- 
ing of  spirits ;"  or  of  what,  in  modern  parlance,  is  called  a 
subjective  apparition,  visible  to  the  seer  but  invisible  to  other 
spectators :  together  with  evidence  that  such  appearances  are 
not,  because  of  such  subjective  character,  to  be  classed  among 
hallucinations. 

Sister  Elizabeth. 

One  Sunday  evening,  during  the  summer  of  1855,  a  New 

York  physician.  Dr.  H ,  attended  morning  service  in  the 

Rev.  Dr.  Bellows'  church. 

During  the  sermon  and  while  his  attention  was  engrossed  by    I 
the  argument  of  the  preacher,  it  was  suddenly  diverted,  in  a  / 
most  unexpected  manner ;  namely,  by  the  apparition  of  three 
female  figures.     They  first  became  visible  on  the  left  of  the 
church  and  they  glided  slowly  across  the  vacant  space  in  front 

of  the  pulpit.     As  they  passed.  Dr.  H recognized  two  of 

them,  both  deceased  relatives ;  one  his  wife,  the  other  his 
mother.  The  third  figure,  appearing  between  the  other  two 
and  with  an  arm  round  the  mother,  was  that  of  a  beautiful 
young  girl.  The  attitude  and  gesture  suggested  the  relation- 
ship of   daughter ;    but  the  features  were   unknown  to  Dr. 

H ;  not  at  all  resembling  (he  thought)  those  of  the  only 

sister  he  had  lost  by  death :  Anne,  who  had  died,  in  childhood, 
thirty-nine  years  before. 


402  THE    DOCTOR  S   MISTAKE 

This  group  of  figures  paused  as  they  readied  the  extreme  right 
of  the  church ;  two  of  them,  the  wife  and  the  young  girl,  gradu 
ally  fading  away.  The  mother,  remaining  still,  turned  toward  hei 
son  and  gazed  at  him,  with  a  look  of  afiection,  for  several  min- 
utes ;  then  vanished  like  the  others.     Dr.  H had  full  time 

to  note  every  well-remembered  item  of  dress :  the  plain  Quaker 
cap,  the  Bnow-white  muslin  kerchief  pinned  across  the  breast, 
the  gray  silk  gown  :  all  just  as  the  good  old  lady,  a  strict  mem- 
ber of  the  Society  of  Friends,  had  worn  them  up  to  the  day 
)f  her  death. 

It  was  the  first  time  in  his  life  that  Dr.  H had  seen  an 

apparition.  Nor,  up  to  that  time,  had  anything  seemed  to  in- 
licate  that  he  had  any  spiritual  powers,  except  that,  on  one  oc- 
casion, a  table  fi-om  which  he  had  just  taken  a  book  had  moved, 
without  apparent  cause,  a  few  inches  toward  him.  The  efiect 
produced  on  him  by  a  phenomenon  so  new  and  unlooked-for  as 
the  appearance  of  these  figures  was  proportionately  great. 

Deeply  pondering  the  matter  and  inclining  to  believe  that 
the  third  figure  must  have  been  his  deceased  sister  Anne,  he 
called,  on  the  evening  of  the  next  day,  on  a  medium  (one  of 
the  Fox  sisters),  hoping  to  have  his  doubts  resolved. 

At  her  suggestion  he  wrote  out  a  number  of  female  names, 
in  secret ;  and  as  he  pointed  to  these  in  succession,  the  name 
Anne  was  passed  by,  and  the  raps  indicated  Elizabeth.     Dr. 

H taxed  his  memory  in  vain  in  search  of  any  relative  of 

that  name  whom  he  had  lost  by  death.  But  when,  on  another 
sheet,  he  had  written  out  as  many  various  relationships  as  he 
could  think  of,  all  were  passed  by  till  he  came  to  the  word 
Sister,  at  which  the  raps  came  very  distinctly. 

**  That's  a  mistake,"  said  Dr.  H .     "  I  never  had  a  sister 

called  Elizabeth.  I  did  lose  a  sister  by  death,  but  her  name 
was  Anne."  Then,  as  appealing  to  the  occult  intelligence  ;  he 
asked  :  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  figure  I  saw  with  its 
arm  round  my  mother  was  my  sister  ?  " 

Answer  by  raps. — "  Yes." 

^*  And  that  her  name  was  Elizabeth?  " 


COliEECTED  BY  A   FAJVtILT  EEGISTEB.  403 

By  louder  raps. — "  Yes." 

"  Well,  it  isn't  so :  that's  all  I  can  say." 

Three  still  louder  raps  reaffirmed  the  assertion. 

Very  much  mystified,  and  somewhat  staggered  by  this  per- 
sistence, it  occurred  to  Dr.  H that  the  family  Bible  which 

he  had  not  inspected  since  he  was  a  child,  was  in  the  possession 
of  his  ste])-mother,  living  seventy  miles  ofi",  in  the  country. 
Happening  sometime  afterward  to  be  in  the  neighborhood,  he 
paid  her  a  visit  and  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  fam- 
ily record  of  births  and  deaths.  There,  to  his  amazement,  he 
found  registered,  in  the  year  1826,  the  birth  of  a  daughter, 
Elizabeth,  together  with  the  record  of  her  death  a  few  weeks 
afterward. 

This  event  occurred  during  a  five-years  absence  from  his 
father's  house  :  and  though  letters  were  interchanged  far  more 

rarely  in  those  days  than  now,  Dr.  H thinks  it  likely  that 

the  circumstance  may  have  been  incidentally  mentioned  in  one 
of  his  father's  infrequent  bulletins  from  home.  He  has  not 
the  slightest  recollection,  however,  that  he  ever  received  any 
such  intelligence,  or  that  he  ever  heard  the  birth  or  death  of 
this  infant  alluded  to  in  the  family.  A  life  so  very  brief  usu- 
ally passes  away  without  leaving  a  trace,  except  in  the  secret 
depths  of  a  mother's  memory. 

Dr.  H has  been  well  known  to  me  for  years,  as  an  intel- 
ligent man  and  a  dispassionate  observer.  I  confide  in  his 
truth  and  accuracy.  I  had  the  narration  from  himself,  wrote 
it  out  next  morning,  submitted  the  manuscript  the  same  day  * 
to  the  narrator  who,  after  making  a  single  correction,  assented 
to  its  accuracy. 

In  this  case,  it  will  be  observed,  the  fact  indicated  by  the  ap- 
parition  and  confirmed  by  the  medium  was  not  only  not  known  to 
the  observer  but  was  contrary  to  his  convictions ;  and  he  remained 
incredulous  until  enhghtened  by  incontrovertible  evidence. 

With  a  single  additional  narrative  connecting,  like  the  fore- 
*  January  2,  1870. 


404  AN  APPARITION  SHOWS   ITSELF 

going,  a  spiritual  appearance  with  the  realities  of  earthly  life^ 
I  close  this  chapter. 

/^  The  Grandmother's  Promise. 

In  the  month  of  March  and  in  the  year  1846,  tl.re^  ladies, 
a  mother  and  two  daughters,  were  sitting  in  the  dining-room 
of  a  dwelling  in  C street,  West  Philadelphia.  It  was  be- 
tween one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  day.  The  liouse  was  a  double 
one,  with  a  central  entrance-hall :  a  parlor  on  the  left  as  one 
entered,  and  the  dining-room  on  the  right ;  the  windows  of 
both  rooms  looking  on  the  street. 

The  mother,  Mrs.  R ,  wife  of  Dr.  R ,  was  sitting 

close  to  a  front  window  and  to  the  wall  dividing  the  room  from 
the  entrance-hall.  Between  her  and  the  door  opening  into 
the  hall  was  a  sofa,  set  against  the  dividing  wall ;  and  thereon 
sat  her  eldest  daughter,  then  unmarried  and  about  nineteen 
years  of  age,  now  the  wife  of  the  Pev.  Mr.  T ,  an  Episco- 
pal clergyman.  Both  these  ladies  wei-e  sitting  with  their  faces 
turned  from  the  window,  so  that  they  could  see  the  door  enter- 
ing from  the  hall,  and  could  observe  what  happened  in  the 
room.     Facing  the  mother  and  seated  on  a  low  stool  between 

her  and  the  elder  daughter,  was  a  younger  daughter,  A , 

then  aged  seventeen.  All  three  ladies  were  engaged  in  needle- 
work and  were  quietly  conversing  on  ordinary  topics. 

The  door  leading  into  the  entrance-hall  was  ten  or  twelve 
feet  from  the  front  wall.  At  the  time  I  am  speaking  of  it  hap- 
pened to  be  ajar,  open  some  three  or  four  inches  only. 

Of  a  sudden,  and  at  the  same  moment,  the  mother  and  eld- 
est daughter  perceived,  advancing  silently  from  this  door,  a 
female  figure.  It  appeared  in  a  black  Turk-satin  dress  and 
over  it  a  white  book-muslin  handkerchief  crossed  on  the  breast ; 
and  it  wore  a  white  bonnet.  In  its  hand  the  ladies  distin- 
guished a  white  silk  bag,  such  as  is  often  carried  by  Quaker 
ladies,  the  string  of  the  bag  wrapped  several  times  round  the 
wrist,  and  the  bag  gathered  up  in  the  hand.     The  joimgei 


TO   THREE  LADIES.  405 

Bister,  observing  after  a  time  the  looks  of  the  other  two  ladies, 
turned  round  and  saw  the  appearance  also ;  but  not  as  long  noi 
as  distinctly  as  they  did. 

The  figure  advanced  slowly  into  the  room,  till  it  came  with- 
in two  or  three  feet  of  the  front  wall.  There  it  stopped  oppo- 
site a  portrait  of  Dr.  E, ,  which  hung  between  the  two  front 

windows,  and  gazed  at  it,  for  the  space  perhaps  of  half  a  min- 
ute ;  then  it  turned  and  moved  slowly  to  the  door  where 
it  had  first  been  seen.  The  door  did  not  open;  but  the  figure, 
coming  close  up  to  it,  there  suddenly  disappeared.  The  ladies 
were  looking  at  it,  at  the  moment  of  its  disappearance.  In 
moving  through  the  parlor  and  returning,  it  passed  so  close  to 
the  elder  daughter  that  its  dress  seemed  almost  to  touch  her's. 
Yet  there  was  no  echo  of  a  footstep,  nor  the  least  rustle  of  the 
di-ess,  nor  any  other  sound  whatever,  while  the  figure  moved. 
This  circumstance  and  the  disappearance  of  the  apparition 
without  opening  of  the  door  to  permit  natural  exit,  alone 
caused  the  appearance  to  seem  other  than  an  ordinary  and  ma- 
terial one.  To  the  sight  it  was  as  distinct  and  palpable  as  any 
human  visitor;  and  though  the  ladies  afterward  recollected 
that  its  motion  seemed  more  like  gliding  than  walking,  yet 
this  was  an  after  thought  only.  Not  a  word  was  spoken,  dur- 
ing the  scene  here  described. 

"  Who  was  it  ?  "  was  Mrs.  R 's  exclamation,  addressed 

to  the  elder  daughter,  as  soon  as  their  first  mute  astonishment 
had  a  little  subsided. 

"  It  was  grandmamma !  "  she  replied. 

Thereupon  the  mother,  without  another  word,  left  the  room. 
The  house  was  searched,  from  garret  to  cellar,  but  not  a  trace 
was  found  of  any  one  except  its  usual  inmates. 

In  addition  to  this  negative  evidence  there  was  the  positive 
proof  furnished  by  a  slight,  recent  fall  of  snow.  The  path  to 
the  door-steps  (the  house  standing  back  from  the  street  line), 
and  the  steps  themselves,  showed  no  trace  of  human  foot. 
Add  to  this  that  two  chUdren  who  were  playing,  at  the  time, 
on  the  front  veranda,  sa^  no  one  enter  or  depart. 


406  THE   GEANDMOTHEE 

()i  subsequently  comparing  notes,  the  ladies  ascertained  thai 
the  impressions  left  on  each  of  them  by  this  extraordinary  ap- 
pearance were  the  self-same.     I  had  the  particulars,  f  rst  from 

the  elder  daughter,  Mrs.  Y ,  and  afterward  confirmed  by 

the  mother.  To  both  the  figure  seemed  a  real  person.  Both 
recollected  the  precise  dress,  and  their  recollections  exactly  cor- 
responded. To  the  eyes  of  both  the  figure  had  crossed  thf. 
room,  approached  the  front  wall,  lingered  there  to  look  at  the 
portrait,  recrossed  to  the  door  and  there  vanished.  Neither 
heard  any  sound.  It  should  be  added  that  they  had  not  been 
talking  or  thinking  of  the  lady  whose  image  thus  suddenly  ap- 
peared before  them. 

Mrs.  R ,  as  well  as  her  daughter,  had  instantly  recog- 
nized the  figure  as  that  of  Mrs.  R 's  mother,  who  had  died 

about  ten  years  before.  Not  only  the  face  and  form,  but  every 
minute  particular  of  the  dress,  as  above  described,  were  the 
counterpart  of  that  lady  and  of  her  usual  walking  attire,  when 
in  life.  Originally  she  had  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends, 
and  she  had,  in  a  measure,  retained  the  style  and  peculiarities 
of  their  apparel. 

The  ladies  related  this  incident,  on  the  evening  of  the  same 

day,  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Y -,  from  whom  I  first  obtained  it : 

his  recollection  of  what  they  told  him,  only  a  few  hours  after 
the  event,  tallying  exactly  with  their  account  to  me  of  what 
they  had  seen.     He  informed  me  that  he  had  never  seen  old 

Mrs.  R ;  but,  the  next  morning,  meeting  three   elderly 

ladies,  sisters,  who  had  been  intimately  acquainted  with  her, 
he  asked  them  (without  mentioning  what  had  been  related  to 
himself)  to  give  him  a  description  of  her  personal  appearance 
and  ordinary  walking-dress.  It  agreed,  point  for  point,  with 
that  of  the  apparition,  as  it  had  been  described  to  him. 

Some  other  particulars  which  add  greatly  to  the  value  of 
this  narrative  remain  to  be  stated.     Shortly  before  her  death 

Dr.   R 's  mother  had  strongly  advised  her  son  to  buy  a 

house  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  ultimately  purchased. 
She   had   also,  about  the  same  time,   stated   to   a   friend   of 


KEEPS  HER  PROMISE.  407 

hers,  Mrs.  C ,  that  if  her  son   (he  was  an  only  son)  did 

well,  she  would,  if  permitted,  return  from  the  other  world,  to 
witness  his  prosperity.      This  was  afterward   mentioned   by 

Mts.  C to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Y ,  and  by  that  gentleman 

to  me. 

But  it  so  happened  that,  on  the  very  day,  and  as  nearly  as 
could  be  ascertained  at  the  very  hour,  when  his  wife  and 
daughters  witnessed  the  apparition  of  his  mother,  the  deeds  by 

which  Dr.  E, became  the  legal  proprietor  of  the  house  in 

which  she  appeared  were  delivered  to  him  by  its  former  pos- 
sessor. Though  he  had  spoken  to  his  wife  and  family  of  his  in- 
tention to  purchase,  they  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
bargaLQ  would  be  closed  on  that  day.  When,  on  his  return  in 
the  evening,  he  threw  the  deeds  on  the  table,  it  was  an  unex- 
pected surprise.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that,  after  the  first 
feeling  of  gratification,  the  next  thought,  both  of  mother  and 
daughter,  should  be  of  her  who  had  so  earnestly  wished  for  this 
acquisition,  and  who  had  appeared  to  them,  in  her  son's  house, 
at  or  near  the  very  time  at  which  that  house  passed,  by  hjgal 

conveyance,  into  his  hands  ?     Is  it  surprising  that  Mrs.  C 

should  call  to  mind  her  old  friend's  promise,  thus,  to  all  out- 
ward seeming,  strangely  and  punctually  fulfilled  ? 

It  may,  perhaps,  occur  to  the  reader  as  singular  that  the 
spirit  of  the  mother  should  not,  at  the  time  of  the  purchase, 
have  appeared  to  her  son,  rather  than  to  her  daughter-in-law. 
But  it  is  not  certain  that  this  was  possible.  It  would  seem 
that,  as  a  general  rule,  apparitions,  like  other  spiritual  phe- 
nomena, can  present  themselves  only  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, and  that  these  circumstances  are  often  connected  with 
the  personal  attributes,  or  peculiarities  of  organization,  of  the 
spectators,  or  some  one  of  them. 

But  Mrs.  K ,  the  daughter-in-law,  evidently  possessed 

some  such  peculiarities.  For,  at  various  periods  of  her  life, 
she  had  had  dreams  of  a  prophetic  character.  To  these  T  shall 
advert  when  I  come  to  speak  of  the  gift  of  prophecy. 


408  WHAT  WE   SHOULD  BEAK   IN  MIND. 

In  connection  with  the  above  incident  it  behooves  us  to  bear 
ill  mind : 

That  it  occurred  two  years  before  modern  Spiritualism  had 
made  its  appearance  in  the  United  States,  when  the  suggestion 
of  "  epidemic  excitement,"  even  if  that  plea  be  ever  good,  was 
out  of  the  question. 

That  the  apparition,  as  far  as  one  can  judge,  was  objective; 
seen  by  three  persons  at  once,  who  coincide  in  their  report  of 
it ;  in  broad  daylight  and  at  a  moment  when  the  thoughts  of 
the  witnesses  were  occupied  by  every-day  matters. 

That  these  witnesses  were  disinterested  and  their  social  po- 
sition such  as  to  forbid  the  supposition  of  wilful  deception. 

That  the  coincidence  between  the  conditional  promise  and  its 
fulfilment  at  the  moment  the  condition  was  accomplished,  is 
too  striking  to  be  rationally  referred  to  chance. 

Whether,  under  these  circumstances,  the  identity  of  the 
grandmother  is  made  out  with  reasonable  certainty,  it  is  for  thie 
reader  to  determine. 


s^ 


CHAPTER  n. 

A  CASE   OP   IDENTITY  THREE   HUNDRED    YEARS   OLD.  \ 

That  branch  of  Pneumatology  which  relates  to  intermimdane 
phenomena  has  come  into  notice  so  recently,  and  has  been,  till 
now,  the  subject  of  so  little  careful  study,  that  one  ought  to 
speak  very  cautiously  of  its  laws,  especially  those  which  govern 
the  conditions  under  which  spirits  may,  or  may  not,  communi- 
cate with  earth.  It  is  hazardous  to  generalize  in  view  of  a 
comparatively  small  array  of  facts. 

Nevertheless  I  think  we  may  assume  it  to  be  probable  that  a 
very  large  proportion  of  all  the  spirits  who  manifest  themselves 
here,  do  so  for  a  limited  time  only  after  they  reach  their  new 
homes.  Their  destiny  is  upward  and  onward;  and  we  may 
suppose  the  better  class  among  them  to  be  more  occupied  by 
the  scenes  of  beauty  and  excellence  that  are  opening  before 
them,  than  by  any  recallings  of  the  dim  and  checkered  sojourn 
they  have  left. 

"With  one  drawback,  however :  drawn  down  sometimes  to 
that  lower  sphf^re  by  a  power  that  is  greater  in  Heaven  than  on 
eai-th — by  an  attraction  that  i-ules  most  surely  in  natures  that 
are  noblest  and  best. 

The  most  powerful  of  all  the  heai-t's  agencies — human  love 
which  so  often  bridges  over  a  thousand  difficulties  here — that 
same  emotion  it  is,  triumphing  over  the  death-change,  whict 
would  seem  the  most  commonly  to  overcome  the  gulf  fixed  be- 
tween earthly  Kfe  and  spiritual  existence.  And  thus,  some- 
times, for  a  few  years — ten,  thirty,  fifty,  perhaps — so  long 
as  the  loved  ones  still  linger  behind — that  deathless  emotion 
appears  to  rule  a  divided  heart. 

— Divided  between  Heaven  and  earth ;  unable,  yet,  while  ite 
mourners  are  on  the  other  side,  fully  to  realize  that  peac^ 
Id 


410  MOTIVES    THAT   PEOMPT   THE 

which  passeth  all  understanding;  unable  cordially  to  rejoice 
with  them  who  do  rejoice,  till  these  mourners— ^now  removed, 
as  if  they  were  the  dead — become  aUve  again,  at  its  side ; 
eager,  meanwhile,  to  make  known  its  undying  affection,  to 
evince  its  constant  care ;  anxious  to  aid,  to  comfort,  to  en- 
courage. 

But  these  earth-bound  labors  of  love  are  transient  only  in 
that  higher  sphere.  Death  is  an  Angel  of  Mercy  there.  He 
is  Heaven's  Herald  of  joy,  for  whose  messages  yearning  souls 
wait.  Through  him,  the  Comforter,  comes  re-union  in  the  many 
mansions  that  had  been  lonely,  even  amid  celestial  surround- 
ings, till  he  brought  the  earthly  wanderers  home.  Then  satis- 
fied hearts  stray  no  longer  from  heavenly  abodes. 

It  is  true  that  what  on  earth  we  call  philanthropy,  and  what 
ill  the  next  world  seems  chiefly  to  take  the  form  of  earnest 
desire  to  bring  immortality  to  light  in  this  darkling  world,  may 
cause  benevolent  spirits  to  seek  us  here  even  when  their  own 
circle  of  love  is  complete.  And  this  doubtless  happens :  Frank- 
lin (Book  v.,  chap.  4)  seems  an  example.  Yet  I  think  it  is  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule.  In  a  general  way  it  would  seem 
that  it  is  not  the  higher  class  of  spirits  which  continue,  genera- 
tion after  generation,  more  especially  century  after  century,  to 
revisit  earth :  not  such  men  as  Confucius  or  Socrates  or  Solon ; 
nor  yet  such  as  Milton  or  Shakspeare  or  Newton. 

Yet  I  give  this  as  my  individual  opinion  only.  I  have 
found  no  proof  of  identity  in  the  case  of  any  spirit,  once  cele- 
brated either  for  goodness  or  talent,  returning,  after  centuries, 
to  enlighten  or  reform  mankind.  My  idea  is  that  they  have 
completed  tlieir  earthly  task,  and  that  theii-  duties,  now,  are  of 
another  sphere.  I  think  that  we  are  left  to  work  out,  in  the 
main,  our  worldly  progress.  The  help  we  receive  from  above 
is  not  to  supersede  our  exertions  here  below.  Only  so  far  we 
are  to  be  directly  helped — to  an  ardent,  living  conviction,  in 
stead  of  a  cold,  barren  belief,  of  that  truth  of  truths — immor- 
tality. That  once  secured  to  our  race,  wc  are  to  trust,  it 
Beems,  to  our  own  industry  and  courage  for  the  rest ;   with 


EETUBN  OF    SPIRITS   TO   EAETH.  411 

fcliis  COD  soling  reflection,  however,  that  though  spuu»<,  long 
since  departed,  descend  not  to  do  our  work,  yet  other  spirit- 
friends — though  it  be  unconsciously  to  us — often  secretly  aid 
the  faithful  worker  to  do  his  own. 

But  other  motives  than  our  benefit  appear  sometimes  to  urge 
mundane  return.  Guilty  spirits  seem  the  most  frequently  to 
be  earth-bound,  as  in  the  case  of  the  lady  of  Burnham  Green,* 
and  hundreds  of  other  house-haunters.  But  a  purely  worldly 
spirit,  unstained  by  crime,  yet  to  whom  trifles  were  wont  to  take 
the  place  of  momentous  things — who  never,  while  here,  bestowed 
a  thought  on  regions  beyond — may,  long  after  it  passes  away, 
be  recalled  hither  by  the  levities  that  made  up  its  empty  earth- 
life,  f  Of  this  I  have  succeeded  in  finding  a  noteworthy  ex- 
ample. 

How    A    French    King's    favorite    Musician    manifested 

HIMSELF. 

In  those  days,  not  long  past,  when  Paris  still  thought  herself 
the  centre  of  civilization,  and  while  she  had  many  claims  to  be 
called  the  gayest  and  the  most  brilliant  among  the  capitals  of 
the  world — in  the  year  1865 — there  lived  in  that  city  a  worthy 
old  gentleman,  inheriting,  from  musical  ancestors,  the  family 
gift.     I  believe  he  is  still  alive. 

Monsieur  N.  G.  Bach,  then  sixty-seven  years  of  age,  was  the 
great-grandson  of  the  celebrated  Sebastian  Bach,  |  who  flour- 
ished during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Though 
in  somewhat  delicate  health,  this  gentleman  was,  at  the  time, 
in  full  enjoyment  of  his  mental  faculties,  a  busy  composer,  and 

*  See  preceding  page  323. 

f  See  Footfalls,  p.  427. 

X  John  Sebastian  Bact,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  German  com- 
posers, was  bom  at  Eisenach  in  1685,  and  died  at  Leipsic  in  1754.  He 
held  several  high  musical  offices,  was  an  inimitable  performer  on  the 
organ,  and  left  many  compositions  of  great  merit.  The  family  is  said 
to  have  produced,  in  the  space  of  two  hundred  years,  fifty  celebrated 
musicians. — BouiLLET:  Dktionnaire  de  Biographic. 


413  THE   SPINET  THAT   WAS 

highly  esteemed  by  his  brother  artists,  alike  because  of  his  pro* 
feasional  talents  and  as  a  thoroughly  upright  and  amiable 
man.* 

On  the  fourth  of  May,  1865,  M.  Bach's  son>  Leon  Bach,  a 
gentleman  of  antiquarian  tastes,  found,  among  the  curiosities 
of  a  bric-a-brac  shop  in  Paris,  a  spinet,  evidently  very  old,  but 
of  remarkable  beauty  and  finish,  and  unusually  well-preserved. 
It  was  of  oak,  ornamented  with  delicate  carving  in  tasteful 
gilded  Arabesque,  encrusted  with  turquoises  and  intermingled 
with  gilt  fleur-de-lis.  It  had  evidently  belonged  to  some  per- 
son of .  wealth  or  distinction  ;  but  all  the  dealer  knew  about  it 
was  that  it  had  quite  recently  been  brought  from  Italy  by  the 
person  from  whom  he  bought  it. 

Thinking  that  it  would  please  his  father,  the  young  man 
purchased  it.  Nor  was  he  disappointed.  M.  Bach,  who  shares 
his  son's  taste  for  stray  waifs  of  the  past,  was  delighted  with 
his  new  acquisition,  and  spent  most  of  the  day  in  admiring  it, 
in  trying  its  tones  and  inspecting  its  mechanism.  It  was  about 
five  feet  long  by  two  wide ;  it  had  no  legs  ;  but  was  packed 
away,  like  a  violin,  in  a  wooden  case  for  protection.  When 
about  to  be  used,  it  was  set  on  a  table  or  stand.  Though  richly 
decorated,  it  was  but  a  small,  weak  beginning  of  what  has 
culminated  in  the  elaborate  Steinways  and  Chickerings  of  our 
day,  with  their  wonderful  power  and  superb  tones.  In  general 
arrangement,  however,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  plate  here 
given,t  it  resembles  them ;  its  small  keys  being  arranged  in  the 
same   order :  but  these  keys,  when  touched,  move  a   set  of 


*  The  Paris  "  Grand  Journal"  (No.  62)  speaks  of  him  as  *'eleve  de 
Zinimerman,  premier  prix  de  Hano  du  Conservatoire  au  concour  de 
1819,  un  de  nos  professenrs  de  piano  les  plus  estimes  et  les  plus 
honores." 

The  Paris  correspondent  of  the  New  York  "  Nation  "  (June  12,  1866) 
speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  his  acknowledged  reputation  for  up- 
rightness and  honesty. 

f  See  Plate  II.  M.  Bach  kindly  entrusted  the  spinet  to  a  Parisian 
friend  of  mine,  who  had  it  photographed  for  me.- 


BOUGHT  BY  L^ON   BAOH. 


413 


M4:  M.  bach's  deeam. 

vooden  sticks  as  tliick  as  a  lady's  finger,  each  fumislied  with 
.  point  which  strikes  the  corresponding  wire.  The  quality  of 
Qe  tone  may  be  readily  imagined. 

Before  the  day  closed,  however,  M.  Bach  had  made  a  dis 
jovery  which  atoned  for  all  imperfections.  On  a  narrow  bar  oi 
vood  which  supported  the  sounding-board  he  thought  he  could 
fctinguish  writing.  Fitted  in  above  this  bar  were  two  small 
blocks,  interposed  between  it  and  the  sounding-board.  They 
entirely  concealed  part  of  the  writing :  but  by  turning  up  the 
instrument  and  letting  in  a  powerful  light,  he  could  read  the 
rest  of  it.  Of  this  he  has  sent  me  a  copy.  It  contains  the 
words,  "  Jn  Moma  Antonius  JVobilis  y  "  then  a"'  blank  caused 
by  the  intervention  of  one  of  the  blocks ;  then  the  words 
"  I^rena  Medislani  Patrice  /  "  then,  after  another  blank  simi- 
larly caused,  the  date  "  Die  xiy  Aprillis  1664."  *  Of  course 
these  words  were  written  before  the  instrument  was  framed. 

Thus  M.  Bach  learned  that  his  spinet  was  more  than  three 
hundred  years  old ;  having  been  made  in  Bome,  in  the  year 
1564,  by  a  certain  Antonius  Nobilis,  apparently  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Milan ;  and  probably  finished  on  the  fourteenth 
of  April  of  that  year.  M.  Bach's  specimen  was  located  and 
labelled.  And,  as  in  all  cases  in  the  eyes  of  the  paleontologist, 
so  in  this  case  in  those  of  the  antiquarian,  this  greatly  added 
to  the  value  of  a  curious  relic  of  the  past. 

Much  pleased,  the  old  gentleman  retired  to  rest ;  and  natur- 
ally enough,  he  dreamed  of  his  son's  gift.  His  dream,  how- 
ever, was  peculiar.  There  appeared  to  him  a  handsome  young 
stranger,  wearing  a  carefully-trimmed  beard,  and  elegantly 
dressed  in  the  ancient  costume  of  the  French  court — rich 
doublet  with  ample  lace  collar  and  close-fitting  sleeves  that 
v^ere  slashed  in  the  upper  part ;  large,  slashed  trunk-hose,  long 
stockings  and  low  shoes  with  rosettes.  Doffing  a  high-pointed, 
broad-brimmed,  and  white-plumed   hat,  this  young  man  ad- 

*  There  are  also  several  unperf  ect  words  cut  off  by  the  blanks  ;  an 
O ;  the  letters  sone  and  A  per,  and,  after  tlie  last  blank,  the  word 
reducit. 


THE  MYSTEJEtlOUS   BONO.  415 

vanced,  bowing  and  smiling,  toward  M.  Bach's  bed,  and  thui 
addressed  the  wondering  sleeper : 

"  The  spinet  you  have  belonged  to  me.  I  often  played  on  it 
to  amuse  my  master,  King  Henry.  In  his  youth  he  composed 
an  air  with  words  which  he  was  fond  of  singing  while  I  accom- 
panied him.  Both  words  and  air  were  written  in  memory  of  a 
lady  whom  he  greatly  loved.  He  was  separated  from  her, 
which  caused  him  much  grief.  She  died,  and  in  his  sad  mo- 
ments he  used  to  hum  this  air." 

After  a  time  this  strange  visitor  added  :  "  I  will  play  it  to 
you,  and  I  shall  take  means  to  recall  it  to  your  recollection,  for 
I  know  you  have  a  poor  memory."  Thereupon  he  sat  down  to 
the  spinet,  accompanying  himself  as  he  sang  the  words.  The 
old  man  awoke  in  tears,  touched  by  the  pathos  of  the  song. 

Lighting  a  taper  he  found  it  was  two  o'clock.  So,  after 
musing  on  his  dream,  and  with  the  plaintive  melody  he  had  heard 
still  sounding  in  his  ears,  he  speedily  composed  himself  to  sleep. 

Nothing  remarkable  in  all  this. 

If  anything  happened  to  M.  Bach  before  he  awoke  next  morn- 
ing, it  was  while  he  remained  in  a  completely- unconscious  state. 
He  had  not  the  faintest  remembrance  of  anything  until,  as  he 
opened  his  eyes  in  broad  daylight,  he  saw,  to  his  unbounded 
amazement,  a  sheet  of  paper  lying  on  his  bed  and  beaded,  in 
these  formal  old  characters ; 


Y  henry 


His  astonishment  increased  when  he  examined  the  sheet 
more  closely.  It  was  a  rare  archaeological  specimen:*  the 
notes  minute ;  the  clefs  those  used  in  former  times ;  the  writ- 
ing careful  and  old-fashioned,  with  here  and  there  the  Gothic 
tails  to  be  foimd  attached  to  certain  letters  in  the  manuscripts 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries ;  the  orthography, 
too,  that  of  two  or  three  hundred  years  ago. 

*  See  Plate  III.  for  fac-sinule  of  the  first  two  lines  of  the  song,  re- 
produced from  the  originaL 


iU 


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EEST   OF   THE  MUSIC   AOT)   WOEDS  ?  417 

His  eye  glanced  over  the  first  notes.  Was  it  the  song  of  his 
'tream?  And  the  words — ^yes,  he  remembered  them!  He 
hastened  to  his  piano,  and  soon  convinced  himself,  beyond  pos- 
sible doubt,  that  here  were,  in  vriith,  reproduced  the  very  air, 
and  the  very  verses,  which  his  dream-brought  visitor  had  sung 
and  played  ! 

The  first  feeling  was  one  of  perplexity  and  trouble — even 
alarm.  What  could  it  all  mean  ?  To  the  dream  itself,  though 
very  Advid  and  remarkable,  he  had,  when  he  awoke  in  the 
uight,  attached  no  importance.  But  what  was  this  ?  Absently 
turning  over  the  mysterious  missive,  he  observed  that  it  was  a 
four-page  sheet  of  music-paper,  two  pages  of  which  contained  a 
composition  of  his  own  which  he  liad  sketched  the  day  before, 
leaving  the  sheet  in  his  escritoire.  It  must  have  been  taken 
thence  during  the  night.  Who  had  taken  it,  and  filled  the  two 
blank  pages  with  this  mysterious  music  from  a  bygone  age  ? 
Somebody  must  have  been  there  ! 

Or  had  it  been  himself?  But  he  was  no  somnambulist — 
had  never,  that  he  knew,  walked  or  written  in  his  sleej).  Nor 
had  he  any  knowledge  or  faith  in  modern  Spiritualism :  so 
that  the  possibility  of  an  actual  spirit-message  did  not  suggest 
itself.  He  was  mystified,  bewildered :  the  more  so,  when  he 
remarked  the  coincidence  of  names  and  dates.  The  man  of  the 
\ision  had  spoken  of  "  his  master,  King  Henry ;  "  the  song  it- 
self^ purported  to  have  been  written  by  Henry  III. :  but  the 
spinet  was  made  in  156*4,  when  Henry  (then  Duke  d'Anjou) 
was  fourteen  years  old.  What  more  likely  than  that  so  hand- 
some an  instrument  should  have  found  its  way,  after  a  few 
years, .  from  Home  to  the  court  of  France,  and  been  bought 
there  by  a  young  prince,  himself  (as  history  tells  us)  a  musical 
composer  of  some  little  merit  ? 

M.  Bach  spoke  of  these  marvels  to  his  Mends,  who  repeated 
the  story  to  others ;  and  soon  a  host  of  the  curious — literary 
men,  artists,  antiquarians  and  others — thronged  the  apartments 
of  the  well-known  musician,  to  hear,  from  his  own  lips,  the 
strange  narrative,  and  to  see,  with  their  own  eyes,  the  wonder 
18* 


il8  THE   PREDICTED   STANZA 

fill  spinet.  Among  these  visitors  came  some  earnest  spiritual- 
ists ;  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  M.  Bach  heard  of  writing 
mediums,  and  listened  to  the  suggestion  that  his  hand  might 
have  been  guided  to  write  while  he  slept. 

All  this,  though  too  new  and  strange  to  enlist  his  belief,  set 
him  to  thinking ;  and,  one  day,  three  or  four  weeks  after  his 
dream,  feeling  a  headache  and  nervous  trembling  of  the  arm, 
the  idea  struck  him.  that  perhaps  some  spirit  wished  to  write 
through  him  and  thus  to  furnish  an  explanation  of  the  mystery 
he  had  been  unable  to  penetrate.  No  sooner  had  he  put  pencil 
to  paper  than  he  lost  consciousness,  and,  while  in  that  state, 
his  hand  wrote — in  French,  of  course — "  King  Henry,  my  mas- 
ter, who  gave  me  the  spinet  you  now  possess,  had  written  a 
four-line  stanza  on  a  jjiece  of  parchment,  which  he  caused  to 
be  nailed  on  the  case  (etui),  when,  one  morning,  he  sent 
me  the  instrument.  Some  years  afterward,  having  to  travel 
and  take  the  spinet  with  me_,  fearing  that  the  parchment  might 
be  torn  off  and  lost,  I  took  it  off,  and  for  safe-keeping  put  it 
in  a  small  niche,  on  the  left  of  the  key-board,  where  it  still 
is." 

This  communication  was  signed  Baldazzarini,  and  then  fol* 
lowed  the  stanza  alluded  to  above,  which,  literally  translated, 
is  as  follows : 

"  The  King  Henry  gives  this  large  spinet 
To  Baldazzarini,  an  excellent  mueician ; 
If  it  is  not  good,  or  not  styhsh  enough, 
At  least,  for  my  sake,  let  him  preserve  it  carefully."  * 

Here,  at  last,  was  a  chance  to  obtain  tangible  evidence  in 
connection  with  these  mysteries.  Here  was  a  test  furnished, 
whereby  to  determine  whether  this  Baldazzarini,  as  Le  (jailed 

*  Here  is  the  original,  as  written  by  M.  Bach's  hand : 

"  Le  roy  Henry  donne  cette  grande  espinette 
A  Baldazzarini,  tres-bon  musicien. 
Si  elle  n'est  bonne  ou  pas  nssez  coquette, 
Pour  SJjuvenir,  du  mouis,  (ju'il  la  conscne  bicn." 


AND   THE  EEAL   STANZA.  419 

himself,  -was  a  myth  or  a  real  person,  capable  of  disclosing  un 
known  facts. 

To  gratify  public  curiosity  the  spinet  had  been  deposited,  foi 
a  few  days,  in  the  Retrospective  Museum  of  the  Palace  of  In- 
dustry ;  and  it  was  still  there  when  the  above  communication 
was  written.     Of  course  it  was  sent  for,  at  once. 

One  can  imagine  with  what  nervous  eagerness  father  and 
son  awaited  its  arrival,  and  then  set  themselves  to  ascertain 
whether  this  story  about  a  parchment,  said  to  contain  a  stanza 
written  by  the  hand  of  a  French  king,  and  still  to  be  found 
within  the  spinet,  was  pure  romance  or  sober  fact. 

During  an  hour  or  two,  M.  Bach  says,  they  explored  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  old  instrument — in  vain!  At  last, 
when  hope  had  almost  deserted  them,  Leon  Bach,  looking  over 
what  his  father's  hand  had  written,  proposed  to  take  the  in- 
strument to  pieces,  so  far  as  they  could  do  so  without  injuring 
it.  When  they  had  raised  the  key-board  and  removed  some 
of  the  hammers,  they  detected,  underneath,  on  the  left,  a  nar- 
row slit  in  the  wood  containing  what  proved  to  be  a  bit  of 
parchment  eleven  and  a  half  inches  long  and  two  and  three- 
quarter  inches  wide,  on  which  was  written,  in  a  bold,  dashing 
hand,  four  lines,  similar  to  those  which  M.  Bach's  hand  had 
traced.    And  there  was  a  signature — yes,  Henry's  sign  manual ! 

They  cleansed  it  as  well  as  they  could,  and  here  is  what  they 
read  ; 

"  Moy  le  Roy  Henry  trois  octroys  cette  espinette 
A  Baltasarini  mon  gay  musicien 
Mais  s'U  dit  mal  sone,  ou  bien  [ma]  motdt  simplette 
Lors  pour  mon  souvenir  dans  I'estuy  garde  bien. 


The  stanza,  literally  translated,  reads  as  follows : 

"  I,  the  King  Hemy  III.,  present  this  spinet 
To  Baltasarini,  my  gay  musician : 
But  if  he  finds  it  poor-toned,  or  else  very  simple, 
Still,  for  my  sake,  ia  its  case  let  him  preserve  it." 

*  See,  on  next  page,  f ac-simile  taken  from  a  photograph  of  the  orig»« 
inal  parchment,  which  I  obtained  through  the  kindness  of  M.  Bach. 


4:20 


THE   OLD   PARCHMENT, 


It  is  difficult,  in  tliis  prosaic  world,  to  realize  the  feelings  oi 
these  excited  searchers  when  at  last,  from  its  secret  hiding 

place,  they  drew  forth — stained  by 
time  and  covered  with  the  dust 
and  cobwebs  of  centuries — thia 
mute  witness — of  what?  The 
father,  as  he  looked  at  it,  was  con- 


scious that  the  announcement 
which  led  to  this  discovery  was 
written  by  no  agency  of  his,  un- 
less a  pen  is  to  bo  called  an  agent. 
When  he  awoke  from  the  trance 
during  which  his  hand  had  written, 
he  had  read  the  lines  as  he  would 
have  read  anything  else  penned 
H  by  a  stranger  and  then  first  pre- 
^  sented  to  him  for  perusal.  And 
yet  it  was  substantially  true ;  and 
here,  under  his  eyes,  lay  evidence, 
not  to  be  gainsayed,  of  its  truth. 
— Substantially,  not  literally 
true.  "  The  King  Ilenry^^  in  the 
announcement,  "  7",  the  King 
Henry  III.''''  in  the  original ;  the 
word  large,  applied  to  the  spinet, 
omitted  in  the  original ;  a  varia- 
tion in  the  spelling  of  the  recip- 
ient's name,  and  ^^  excellerit''''  writ- 
ten "  gag  "  *  in  the  original ;  also 
"not  good^''  replaced  by  "^oor- 
toned,^^  and  "  not  stylish  enougV 
by  "very  simple^''  finally,  in  the 
last  line,  the  original  refers  to  the 

*  See,  as  to  this  word  gap  and  as  to 
the  spelling  of  the  musician's  name,  a 
remark  made  a  few  pages  f axther  on. 


THE  INTEKPOLATED    [ma].  421 

case  {J^estuy,  as  Vetui  was  then  -written),  while  in  the  stanza, 
as  announced,  there  is  no  such  reference. 

Amazed  they  must  have  been  !  Yet  I  doubt  whether  it  oc- 
curred either  to  father  or  son,  as  it  occurs  to  me,  that  the  evi* 
dence  thus  brought  to  light  is  vastly  stronger  on  account  of  its 
peculiar  character — is  much  more  convincing  because,  while  ab- 
solutely substantial  in  its  coincidence  with  the  promised  stanza, 
it  bears  no  stamp  of  literalism. 

The  interpolated  nia  in  the  discovered  stanza  greatly  puzzled 
them  at  first,  but  was  subsequently  explained.  When  exhibit- 
ing the  original  parchment  to  the  friend  through  v/hom  I  ob- 
tained this  narrative,  M.  Bach  said :  "  No  one  could  imagine 
the  meaning  of  the  word  rnci,  surrounded  by  lines,  as  you  see. 
But  one  day  my  hand  was  again  moved  involuntarily,  and 
there  was  written :  *  Amico  mio  :■  the  King  joked  about  my 
Italian  accent  in  the  verse  he  sent  with  the  spinet.  I  always 
said  ma  instead  of  mais.^  " 

iH/a,  Italian  for  but^  corresponds  to  the  French  rnais  y  and  I 
have  observed  that  Italians,  in  speaking  French,  frequently 
make  this  mistake.     Thus  "  ma  moult  simplette,"  in  Baltazari 
ni's  patois,  would  mean  "  but  very  simple." 

The  original  parchment  (blackened  by  age,  as  the  plato 
shows)  was  taken  by  M.  Bach  to  the  "  Bibliothdque  Imperi- 
ale  "  (if  that  be  still  the  title  of  France's  great  national  libra- 
ry) and  there  compared' with  original  manuscripts.  In  thes« 
last  Henry's  hand  was  found  to  vary,  as  in  that  age  hand-writ 
ings  often  did :  but  with  some  of  the  acknowledged  originals 
the  writing  on  M.  Bach's  parchment — verse  as  well  as  signa- 
ture— was  found  most  strictly  to  correspond.  "  L'identita 
6tait  absolue,"  M.  Bach  said.  It  was  also  submitted,  for  veri- 
fication, to  experienced  antiquarians,  and  by  them,  after  criti- 
cal comparison,  pronounced  to  be  a  genuine  autograph  of  Henry, 
"whencesoever  obtained. 

The  minute  holes  visible  along  the  upper  edge  of  the  parch 
ment  (see  fac-similo),  indicating  that  it  had  originally  been 
tacked  to  some  wood3n  surface,  sustain  the  allegation  that 
Henry  hai  c.vasjJ  it  "^  to  bj  mile.!  to  th)  case*."     On  the  lower 


422  THE   EXCITEMENT  IN  PARIS. 

edge  it  seems  to  have  been  cut  off  inside  of  the  nail-holes ;  but 
the  marks  of  four  larger  holes,  one  at  each  comer  of  the  parch 
ment,  are  distinctly  visible.  The  rough  cross  above  the  qua- 
train is  an  additional  voucher  of  authenticity ;  for  a  similai 
token  of  easy  piety  heads  almost  every  specimen  of  Henry  th« 
Third's  writing  that  has  come  down  to  us. 

These  marvellous  incidents,  more  or  less  correctly  related, 
could  not  fail  to  find  their  way  into  the  newspapers.  They 
appeared  in  several  Parisian  journals,  and  were  thence  copied 
far  and  wide.  For  a  week  or  two  M.  Bach's  spinet,  with  its 
supernatural  accessories,  was  the  great  sensation  of  the  novelty- 
seeking  French  metropolis.  The  whole  was  usually  set  down 
as  incomprehensible ;  they  stated  the  facts,  with  some  such  com- 
ment as — "  Myst^re  que  nous  n'osons  pas  approfondir  :"  and 
though  there  were  general  suggestions  that  some  natural  expla- 
nation must  exist,  yet — so  firmly  established  was  M.  Bach's 
reputation  for  integrity — these  never  took  the  shape  of  doubts 
that  he  had  acted  in  entire  good  faith.  After  a  time,  of  course, 
the  excitement  was  replaced  by  that  of  some  other  engrossing 
rumor,  but  without  leading  to  any  solution  or  explanation 
whatever. 

The  song  was  published.  As  no  treble  accompaniment,  but 
only  the  air  with  bass,  was  given  in  the  original  (see  fac-similft 
of  music  on  preceding  page),  M.  Bach  had  to  supply  the  ac- 
companiment for  the  right  hand,  which  he  did  with  taste  and 
judgment.  The  words  are  pretty  and  suit  well  with  the  senti- 
ment of  the  romance.*  They  contain  two  special  allusions; 
one  to  the  royal  author  having  met  the  object  of  his  passion  at 
a  distant  hunt  ("  chasse  lointaine  ")  ;  and  the  other  to  the  lady 
having  sadly  passed  her  last  days  in  a  cloister.  ("  Triste  et 
cioistree,"  now  written  cloitree — are  the  words). 

*  Here  they  are,  with  the  original  orthography : 

Refrain. 

J'ay  perdu  celle  pour  quy  j'avois  tant  d^amoor. 
Elle,  si  belle,  avoit  pour  moy,  chaque  jour, 
Faveur  nouvelle  et  nouveau  d6sir : 
Oh  ouy !  sans  cllc,  il  mo  fuut  mourir. 


WORDS   OF  THE   SONG.  423 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  publication  of  the  incident? 
above  related  and  of  the  mysterious  song  caused  various  re- 
searches into  the  annals  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  determine 
how  far  the  historical  record  of  the  times  bore  out  M.  Bach's 
story.  It  was  soon  discovered  that,  according  to  the  best 
biographies,  the  "  gi'ande  passion  "  of  Henry's  life  was  for  the 
Princess  Marie  de  Cloves  ;  and  that,  according  to  a  diary  kept 
of  those  times,  that  princess  appears  to  have  died  in  an  abbey. 

Also  a  passage  was  brought  to  light,  occurring  in  one  of  the 
works  of  that  laborious  chronicler,  the  Abbe  Lenglet-Dufresnoy, 
and  reading  thus  :  "  In  1579,  Balthazzarini,  a  celebrated  Italian 
musician,  came  into  France,  to  the  court  of  Henry  III."  * 

Ir.    VERS. 

Tin  joar,  pendant  nne  chasse  lointaine, 

Je  rapertjus  pour  la  premiere  fois ; 
Je  croyais  voir  on  ange  dans  la  plaine. 

Lore,  je  devins  le  plus  heureux  des  Boys !  . .  .  mais  I 

2nd.    VERS.' 

Je  donnerois  certes  tout  mon  royaume 

Pour  la  reyoir  encor  un  seul  instant, 
Prds  d'elle  assis  dessous  ua  humble  chaume, 

Ponr  eentir  mon  coeor  battre  en  Fadmirant . .  .  mais  I 

3nrt.    VERS. 

Triste  et  cloistr6e,  oh  !  ma  pauvre  belle 

Fut  loin  de  moi  pendant  ses  demiers  jours. 
Elle  ne  sens  plus  sa  peine  cruelle, 

Ici  bas,  h6las  I  . .  je  soufEre  toujours !  .  ,  .  ah  1  .  .  . 

In  singing',  the  refrain  is  repeated  after  each  verse. 

The  word  «i,  ia  the  second  line  of  the  refrain,  seems  at  first  to  be 
written  sy  ;  and  it  was  so  printed  in  the  song' :  whereupon  a  critic  wrote 
to  M.  Bach,  calling  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  French  have  rwDerr 
written  the  word  si  with  a  y.  On  examining  the  supposed  y,  however, 
with  a  magnifier,  M.  Bach  and  his  friends  came  to  the  opinion  that  it 
was  but  the  long  Italian  ?,  often  used  when  i  was  a  final  letter,  in  those 
lays.  It  is  evidently  unlike  any  other  y  ia  the  original,  as  may  be  seen 
jy  examining  the  two  lines  in  fac-aimile  (page  416), 

*  Tahlettes  CI ronolo^ques  de  VHistoire  UniverseUe^  voL  ii.  p.  704. 
Ed.  of  1778.) 


424  CHAEACTER   OF    HENRY   III. 

But  I  determined  to  obtain,  if  possible,  further  testimony, 
and  have  succeeded  in  procuring  some  other  important  particu- 
lars. 

Henry,  the  Last  of  the  Valois. 

This  favorite  son  of  Catherine  de  M^dicis  is  best  known  by 
the  one  great  crime  of  his  life ;  his  assent  to  that  massacre  of 
St.  Bartholomew,  which  took  place,  at  the  instigation  of  his 
mother  and  by  the  authority  of  his  elder  brother,  Charles  IX., 
in  August,  1572. 

But  Henry  was  not  without  redeeming  qualities.  When 
but  nineteen  years  old,  he  won,  for  his  brother,  the  battles  of 
Jarnac  and  Montcontour ;  thus  achieving  a  military  reputation 
which,  three  years  later,  procured  his  election  as  King  of 
Poland. 

One  among  the  most  discriminating  of  modem  historians 
says  of  him :  "  Henry  wished  to  lead  a  palace  life,  divided  be- 
tween pious  exercises,  the  pleasures  of  the  city,  retirement  and 
the  reverence  due  to  the  sovereign  magistrate.  He  was  little 
inclined  to  cultivate  the  society  of  old  generals,  politicians,  and 
men  of  learning,  who  might  have  informed  and  instructed  him : 
preferring  young  and  gay  people  of  handsome  exterior,  who 
emulated  him  in  the  faultlessness  of  their  costumes  and  the 
brilliancy  of  their  ornaments."  * 

But  this  was  one  side  only  of  his  character.  "  His  nature," 
says  Ranke,  "  was  like  that  of  Sardanapalus  which,  in  seasons 
)f .  prosperity,  abandoned  itself  to  enervating  luxury,  but  in 
adversity  became  courageous  and  manful.  .  .  .  His  failings 
were  obvious  to  every  one.  His  deficient  morality,  his  eager- 
ness for  enjoyment,  and  his  dependence  upon  a  few  favorites 
gave  general  and  well-founded  offence.  Occasionally,  however, 
he  rose  to  the  full  height  of  his  vocation;  showing  an  intel- 
lectual capacity  corresponding  with  his  exalted  position,  and, 

*  Ranke  :  Civil  Wars  and  Monarchy  in  France ;  p.  307.  (New 
Y-orkEd.  1S54.) 


HENEY  m    POLAIO).  425^ 

though  subject  to  many  vacillations,  great  susceptibility  of 
mind  and  goodness  of  disposition."  * 

Sucli  was  the  monarch  who,  according  to  the  allegt,tionmade  in 
M.  Bach's  dream,  composed  the  elegiac  song.  The  name  of  the 
lady  w  hom  it  mourns  was  not  mentioned ;  but — the  genuinenesr 
of  the  song  being  conceded — there  cannot  be  a  doubt  as  to  th** 
person  intended.  The  name  of  Beatrice  is  not  more  insepara 
bly  connected  with  the  memory  of  Dante,  nor  Laura  with  Pe- 
trarch, than  is  the  name  of  Marie  de  Cleves  with  that  o* 
Henry  III.  Not  a  detailed  history  of  the  time,  not  a  biogra- 
phy of  Henry,  but  alludes  to  it. 

He  met  her,  while  still  Duke  d'Anjou,  and  sought  her  in 
marriage ;  but  she  was  a  Protestant  and  he  a  Catholic  of  Medi- 
cean  blood.  The  difference  of  religion,  insuperable  of  course 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Queen  Mother,  seems  to  have  been  the  sole 
cause  that  prevented  their  marriage,  f  She  was  married,  in 
July,  1572,  to  the  Prince  of  Conde,  one  of  the  chief  Protestant 
leaders ;  and,  the  next  year,  1573,  Henry  left  France  to  assume 
the  throne  of  Poland,  carrying  with  him,  according  to  Chateau- 
briand, remorse  for  the  massacres  of  St.  Bartholomew,  but — in 
still  stronger  measure — regret  for  his  disappointment  in  love. 
"  He  wrote  with  his  blood,"  says  that  historian,  "  to  Marie  de 
Cleves,  first  wife  of  Henry,  Prince  of  Conde."  J 

*  Ranke  :  work  cited,  pp.  314,  394. 

f  "La  difference  de  religion,  suivant  quelques  memoires,  fut  la  seule 
cause  qui  Tempecha  de  Tepouser." — Biographie  Generate^  tome  x.  p. 
854.  The  same  assertion  is  made,  in  more  positive  terms,  in  the  Biog- 
ra]i7iie  UniverseUe,  vol.  ix.  p.  95. 

X  "  Le  Due  d'Anjou  (depuis  Henry  III.)  alia  prendre  la  couronne  de 
Pologne,  et  raconter,  dans  les  forets  de  la  Lithuanie,  a  son  medecia 
lilhron.  les  meurtres  dout  la  pensoe  remjxSchait  de  dormir  :  '  Je  vous  ai 
faib  vcnir  ici,  pour  vous  faire  part  de  mes  inquietudes  et  agitations  de 
Of  tte  nulct,  qui  ont  trouble  mon  repos,  en  repensant  a  rexecution  de 
la  Saint-Barthelcmy.'  En  quittant  la  France,  le  due  d'Anjou  avait  eta 
moins  poarsuivi  du  souvenir  de  ses  crimes  que  de  celui  de  ses  amours ; 
il  ccrivait  avec  son  sang  a  Marie  de  Cleves,  premiere  femme  de  Henri, 
Prince  de  Conde." — Analyse  raisonnee  de  VHL^ioirc  de  France,  parCHA.- 


426  THE  "commotion  in  the  air." 

Charles  IX.  died  in  1574,  and  Henry  speedily  returned  from 
]:"*oland  to  Paris,  as  heir  to  the  throne  of  France.  A  month 
after  his  return  Marie  died :  and  so  deeply,  according  to  his 
biographers,  did  Henry  take  her  death  to  heart,  that  he  re- 
mained several  days  shut  up  without  food,  in  an  apartment 
hung  with  black ;  and  when  he  reappeared  in  public,  it  was  in 
garments  of  deep  mourning,  with  deaths'-heads  worked  all  over 
them.  * 

The  poots  of  that  day  allude  to  Henry's  bitter  grief.  In  the 
works  of  Pasquier,  a  contemporary  of  Henry,  is  to  be  found  a 

teaubriand,  Paris,  1853,  p.  315.  I  think  Henry's  remorse  for  the  St. 
Bartholomew  massacres  may  have  been  more  sincere  than  Chateau- 
briand regards  it.  There  is  a  curious  incident,  related  by  Eanke,  in 
this  connection : 

"Charles  IX.,  about  eight  days  after  the  massacre,  caused  his 
brother-in-law,  Henry,  to  be  summoned  to  him  in  the  night.  He  found 
him  as  he  had  sprang  from  his  bed,  filled  with  dread  at  a  wild  tumult 
of  confused  voices,  which  prevented  him  from  sleeping.  Henry  him- 
self imagined  he  heard  these  sounds;  they  appeared  like  distinct 
shrieks  and  bowlings,  mingled  with  the  indistinguishable  raging  of  a 
furious  multitude,  and  with  groans  and  curses  as  on  the  day  of  the 
massacre.  Messengers  were  sent  into  the  city  to  ascertain  whether  any 
new  tumult  had  broken  out,  but  the  answer  returned  was  that  all  was 
quiet  in  the  city,  and  that  the  commotion  was  in  the  air.  Henry  could 
never  recall  this  incident  without  a  horror  that  made  his  hair  stand  on 
end." — Ranke,  work  cited,  p.  278. 

Henry  III.  probably  witnessed  this  startling  phenomenon;  at  all 
events,  he  must  assuredly  have  known  of  it,  at  the  time  :  and  it  was 
an  occurrence  likely  to  leave  a  Hfe-long  impression  on  a  mind  like  his. 

A  historian,  to  avoid  the  charge  of  superstition,  has  to  say,  as  Ranke 
does,  that  Hemiy  imagined  he  heard  the  same  sounds.  But  how  about 
the  messengers  who  brought  answer  back  that  "  the  commotion  was  in 
the  air''? 

*  Marie  mourut  en  couches  en  1574.  Henri  III.  qui  venait  de  suc- 
ceder  a  Charles  IX.,  et  etoit  depuis  un  moisde  retour  de  Pologne,  en 
fut  saisi  d'une  si  vive  douleur,  qu'il  resta  enferme  plusieurs  jours  sana 
manger,  et  ne  reparut  ensuite  en  public  que  convert  de  vetements  de 
deuil,  parsemes  de  tetes  de  mort." — Biogra^hie  Generale^  tome  x.  pp. 
854,  855. 


THE  BEAUTIFUL   MARY.  427 

monody  on  the  death  of  Marie  de  Cloves,  which  the  poet  puta 
in  the  mouth  of  the  king.* 

With  all  this  tallies  closely  what  history  tells  us  regarding 
the  lady  herself. 

Maeie  de   CiiiVES. 

This  princess  seems  to  have  been  almost  as  noted  for  grace 
and  beauty  as  her  more  celebi*ated  namesake,  Mary  of  Scot- 
land 

She  had  been  the  admiration  of  the  court  of  Charles  IX.,  by 
her  loveliness  and  her  virtues. f  The  poets  of  that  day  cele- 
brate her  as  the  "  Beautiful  Mary ;  "  J  and  so  great  was  the  fas- 
cination her  charms  exerted  over  Henry  that  the  credulity  of 
the  times  was  fain  to  ascribe  it  to  the  influence  of  sorcery.  § 

We  have  additional  testimony  both  as  to  the  character  of 
this  lady,  and  as  to  the  profound  sorrow  felt  by  Henry  for  her 
loss,  in  the  following  extract  from  a  manuscript  Diary  kept, 
throughout  the  reigns  of  Henry  III.  and  Henry  lY.,  by  Pierre 
de  1  Estoile,  Sieur  de  Gland,  a  gentleman  of  an  honorable  and 
well-known  family,  occupying  important  posts  in  the  magistracy 
and  Parliament  of  Paris  :  11 


*  'On  trouve  dans  les  CEuvres  de  Pasquier  une  complainte  sur  la 
mort  de  Marie  de  Oleves,  ou  le  poete  fait  parler  le  roi  lui-meme."— 
Biograpkie  Unuerselle^  tome  ix.  p.  96. 

f  "  Cette  princesse,  qui  avait  fait  1' admiration  de  la  cour  de  Charles 
ex.,  par  sa  beaute  et  ses  vertus,  mourut  en  couches,  etc." — Biogra/pliie 
JJrdcersclle  (Paris,  1813),  tome  ix.  p.  96. 

X  "  Les  poetes  du  temps  la  celebrent  sous  le  nom  de  la  B^MarUy — 
Biographie  Generale^  tome  x.  p.  854, 

§  "  Selon  I'usage  de  ces  temps  de  creduhte,  on  crut  que  la  princesse 
ftvait  employe  quelque  charme  pour  enflammer  Henri." — Biograpfm 
Uiiiverselk^  tome  ix.  p.  96. 

I  Pierre  de  TEstoile,  conseiller  du  Roi,  et  grand  audiencier  en  la  chan- 
oellerie  de  Francs,  etoit  issu  d'une  famille  parlementaire.  Sa  position 
Bociale  lui  permettait  de  bien  connaitre  les  hommes  et  les  choses  de  son 
temps.  II  parait  qu'iL  se  donna,  pour  principale  occupation  de  sa  vie, 
le  8oin  de  rec  oilier  tres  attentivement,  et  de  consigner  dans  des  registacei 


428 

"  On  Saturday,  October  30, 1574,  died  at  Paris,  in  the  flo-vvai 
of  her  age,  leaving  a  daughter  as  heir,  Dame  Marie  de  Cleves, 
Marchioness  d'Isle,  wife  of  Messire  Henry  de  Bourbon,  Princ6 
of  Conde.  She  was  endowed  with  singular  goodness  and  beauty, 
by  reason  of  which  the  King  loved  her  devotedly  (eperdu 
ment)  ;  so  dearly,  indeed,  that  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  hei 
uncle,*  when  about  to  entertain  the  King,  caused  her  to  be  re- 
moved from  his  Abbey  of  Saint-Gennain-des-Pres :  declaring  to 
His  Majesty  that  he  (the  King)  could  not  enter  so  long  as  the 
body  of  the  princess  remained  there.  She  said,  on  her  death- 
bed, that  she  had  wedded  the  most  generous,  but  also  the  most 
jealous,  prince  in  Prance ;  to  whom,  however,  she  felt  conscious 
that  she  had  never  given  the  slightest  cause  for  jealousy."  f 

I  have  found  no  positive  evidence  that  Marie  passed  her  last 
days  in  the  Abbey  in  which  she  was  buried ;  but  it  is,  in  the 
highest  degree,  probable.  We  know  that  she  died  in  Paris,  and 
that  her  husband,  the  Prince  of  Conde,  fearing  that  the  Queen 

ou  des  tablettes,  les  ^venements  marquants  qui  se  passait  autour  de 
lui" — Notice  of  the  Life  and  Manuscnpts  of  Pierre  de  rEstoile,  prefixed 
to  the  Paris  reprint  of  his  "  Memoires,"  Didier,  1854. 

Speaking  of  D'Estoile's  diary,  Bouillon  says,  in  his  Dictionnaire  dt 
Biograpliie  Universelle : 

"  This  collection  comprised  in  five  folio  volumes,  and  which  was 
never  intended  for  publication,  is  a  most  valuable  source  of  information 
as  to  events  occurring  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  III.  and  Henry  rV."—J.r<. 
"EtoUe." 

*  He  was  her  uncle  by  marriage  only. 

f  Pierre  DE  l'Estoile  :  Memoires  pour  servird  VHistoire  de  France. 
Edition  by  Didier,  1854. 

The  wording,  in  the  original,  is  somewhat  obscure  :  "le  roy  I'aimoit 
si  fort  qu'il  falust  que  le  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  son  oncle,  pour  festcier 
le  Koy,  la  fist  oster  de  son  Abbaye  de  Saint- Germain-des-Pres ;  disant 
Sa  Majeste  qu'H  n'estoit  possible  qu'elle  y  entrast  tant  que  eon  corps  y 
seroit."  But  the  meaning  evidently  is  that  the  Cardinal,  kncTrmg  the 
violence  of  the  King's  grief,  thinking  that  he  might  insist  on  seeing  the 
body  of  the  princess,  and  fearing  the  effect  on  his  mind,  took  the  pre- 
caution to  have  the  corpse  removed  from  the  Abbey,  previous  to  th« 
King's  visit. 


429 

(^Jother  designed  his  death,  had,  some  months  before,  taken 
refuge  in  Germany,  where  he  remained  till  late  in  the  year 
1575  ;  *  that  is,  until  a  year  after  Maiie's  death.  Marie's  father 
had  died  several  years  before,  f  The  priQce,  in  leaving  liis  wife 
behind,  doubtless  entrusted  her  to  the  care  of  his  uncle,  the 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon.  But  the  cardinal  evidently  resided  ii? 
his  Abbey,  since  it  was  there,  according  to  Etoile,  that  he  pro- 
posed to  entei-tain  the  King.  Under  these  circumstances,  we 
can  scarcely  doubt  that  the  forsaken  and  fatherless  niece  lived 
with  her  uncle  in  his  Abbey.  Sad  must  her  life  there  have 
been,  uncertain  as  she  was  of  her  husband's  fate  !  All  this 
strikingly  coincides  with  the  "  triste  et  cloistree  "  of  the  song. 

I  pass  on  to  say  a  few  words  of  the  musician,  to  whom,  as 
alleged,  the  spinet  belonged. 

Baltazarini. 

His  name  does  not  occur  either  in  the  Siographie  Generahy 
or  the  Siographie  TTniverselle  ;  and,  after  long  search,  I  had 
begun  to  despair  of  finding  any  biographical  notice  of  such  a 
personage,  when  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  discover  in  the  Ath- 
enaeum Library  of  Boston,  a  French  Dictionary  of  Musicians, 
in  some  eight  or  nine  volumes.  There  Henry's  favorite  has 
a  place. 

"  Baltazarini  :  an  Italian  musician,  known  in  Fiance  under 
the  name  of  Seaujoyeux^  was  the  first  violinist  of  his  day.  The 
Marechal  de  Brissac  brought  him  from  Piedmont,  in  1577,  to 
the  court  of  Queen  Catherine  de  Medicis,  who  appointed  him 
her  Director  of  Music,  and  fii*st  valet  de  clumibre.  Henry 
[II.  entrusted  to  him  the  management  of  the  court  fetes  ;  and 

*  Ranke  :  "  Civil  Wars  and  Monarchies  in  France,"  p.  293. 

f  Marie  was  the  daughter  of  Francis  L ,  Duke  of  Nevers.  I  do  not 
know  the  exact  year  ta  which  he  died,  but  it  was  before  1565  :  foi 
Louis  de  Gonzaqne,  having  in  that  year  married  the  heiress  of  Fran- 
cis, then  succeeded  to  the  Dukedom  of  Nevers, — Bouillon  :  Diction 
naire  de  Biographie  UhiverseUe,  art.  "  Nevers." 


430  THE   GAY   BALTAZARINI 

he  long  discharged  the  duties  of  that  post  with  credit.  It  was 
he  who  first  conceived  the  idea  of  a  dramatic  spectacle,  coin 
bined  with  music  and  dancing."  * 

Baltazarini  was,  then,  at  Henry's  coui-t,  surnamed  Beaujoy- 
GULX — "  the  handsome  and  the  joyous."  Compare,  with  this,  the 
second  line  of  the  stanza,  as  it  appears  on  the  discovered  parch 
ment ; 

"  A  Baltazarini,  mon  gay  mtisicien  " — 

gai  being  the  synonyme  of  joy&wx. 

But  in  the  stanza,  as  M.  Bach's  hand  predicted  it  would  be 
found,  the  same  line  reads : 

"  A  Baldazzarini,  tres  bon  musicien." 

A  trifling  coincidence,  this ;  yet  a  most  significant  one,  be- 
cause inconsistent  with  any  arranged  scheme  of  deception. 
There  can  be  no  stronger  proof  of  authenticity,  than  just  such 
incidental  trifles  as  these. 

What  shall  we  say  of  M.  Bach's  story?  The  documents 
from  which  I  have  compiled  it  were  procured  for  me  by  an 
English  friend  in  Paris,  to  whom  I  cannot  sufliciently  expresa 
my  obligations  for  disinterested  and  untiring  kindness,  and 
whom  I  wish  that  I  were  at  liberty  here  to  thank  by  name. 
That  friend,  having  made  M.  Bach's  acquaintance,  obtaiued  per- 
sonally from  him  all  the  particulars,  with  corrections  of  the 
newspaper  statements  and  answers  to  various  queries  of  mine, 
suggested  by  the  documents  as  I  first  obtained  them:  also, 
through  M.  Bach's  courtesy,  the  various  photographs  I  possess, 
together   with   the   following   certificate,  in  M.  Bach's  hand- 

*  BlograpJiie  Universdle  des  Musiciens,  voL  i.  p.  232. 

From  the  last  sentence  in  the  above  it  would  appear  that  to  Baltaza- 
rini— or  BaltJuiszarini^  as  Lenglet-Dufresnoy  spelled  it,  or  Baldazzarini, 
as  it  was  written  by  M.  Bach's  hand — the  modem  world  owes  its  fa- 
vorite amusement,  the  opera. 

The  uncertainty,  in  these  old  times,  as  to  the  spelling  of  proper 
names,  especially  in  the  case  of  persons  of  little  note,  is  notorious. 


ATTESTATIONS.  431 

writing,  appended  to  that  fac-simile  of  the  original  music,  of 
which  I  have  given  two  lines  on  page  416 : 

"  This  is  a  correct  fac-^imile  from  the  sheet  of  music  papei 
which  I  found  on  my  bed,  the  morning  of  the  fifth  of  May, 
1 8G5.  The  air  and  the  words  are  truly  those  which  I  heard  in 
uiy  dream. 

"  N.  G.  Bach." 

In  addition,  M.  Bach  (in  reply  to  a  suggestion  of  mine 
which  some  men  would  have  deemed  importunate)  did  me  the 
fcivor  to  send  me  a  letter,  dated  March  23,  1867,  in  which  he 
says :  "I  attest  the  existence  of  the  parchment,  still  in  my 
possession,  containing  the  verses  composed  by  the  king  and  ad- 
dressed to  the  celebrated  musician,  Baldazarini ;  and  that  it 
was  found  in  a  secret  compartment  of  the  spinet  which  the 
king  had  given  him  ;  and  also  that  the  communication  announc- 
ing the  existence  of  the  parchment,  and  stating  that  it  had 
been  placed  there,  is,  in  every  point,  the  exact  truth.  I  add 
that  the  photo^aphs  of  the  spinet  and  of  the  parchment,  and 
the  reproduction  of  the  autograph  of  the  music  and  words,  are 
well  executed  and  perfectly  exact." 

Such  is  the  case  in  all  important  details.  It  is  for  the  reader 
to  decide  whether,  under  the  circumstances,  the  supposition  of 
imposture  is  tenable. 

What  motive  ?  Nothing  whatever  to  gain,  in  a  worldly  sense. 
Much  to  risk  and  something  to  lose.  To  risk  misconception, 
suspicion,  perhaps  the  allegation  of  monomania ;  perhaps  the 
charge  of  conspiracy  to  palm  off  on  the  world  a  series  of  de- 
liberate, elaborate  forgeries ;  forgeries  involving  a  sacrilegious 
deception,  seeing  that  there  is  question  of  sacred  things  con- 
nected not  with  this  world  only,  but  with  that  which  is  to 
come.  Thus,  to  risk  the  loss  of  a  character  earned  by  the  con- 
sistent integrity  of  a  long  and  honored  life.  More  certainly 
still,  to  attract  importunate  visitors,  perhaps  impertinent  ques- 
tioners, and  thus  to  break  up  that  domestic  quiet  so  dear  to  a 
cultivated  and  studious  sexagenarian. 


432  THE   SUPPOSITION   OF   FRAUD 

But  if  character  and  all  imaginable  motive  did  not  give  tLe 
lie  to  any  such  suspicion,  the  circumstances  are  such  that  the 
theory  of  fraud  is  beset  with  extreme  difficulties.  The  friend  to 
whom  I  owe  my  documents  showed  the  original  of  the  song  to 

Monsieur  D ,  one  of  the  greatest  harmonists  of  the  day 

and  quite  a  thesaurus  of  musica^  lore.  This  gentleman  exam- 
ined it  critically,  and  declared  60  my  friend  that  it  was  so 
exactly  in  the  style  of  the  epoch  that  it  would  require  not  only 
a  great  musical  genius,  but  the  special  studies  of  a  lifetime,  to 

produce  such  an  imitation.     Monsieur  D ,  lacking  faith  in 

spiiit  intercourse,  did  not  pretend  to  explain  the  mystery,  but 
simply  said  that,  though  M.  Bach  was  a  meritorious  musician, 
he  regarded  it  as  absolutely  impossible  that  he  should  have  com- 
posed the  song. 

Again,  if  composed  by  him,  it  must  have  been  suddenly,  in 
a  single  night,  without  chance  of  reference  to  old  authorities. 
Whence,  then,  the  coincidences  between  the  words  of  the  song  * 
and  the  incidents  in  the  life  of  Henry  HI.  and  of  Marie  de 
Cloves  ? 

Every  allusion  has  been  verified,  except  that  to  the  distant 
hunt  (chasse  lointaine) :  and — let  Sadducism  smile  at  my  easy 
faith  in  the  unseen — I  confess  my  belief  that  if  I  had  opportu- 
nity to  consult  the  library  of  the  British  Museum,  or,  better 
yet,  the  JBibliotheque  Impericde,  I  could  verify  that  also. 

Add  to  all  this  the  minor  peculiarities  to  which  I  have 
already  adverted.  Would  any  one,  concerting  a  plan  of  forgery 
and  similated  prediction,  be  likely  to  contrive  the  variations 
between  the  predicted  stanza  and  the  original  ?  or  the  inclosed 
[ma],  with  its  explanation ?  or  the  si,  apparently  a  blunder, 
yet  proving  correct  ?  or  even  the  variations  in  spelling  the  mu- 
sician's name  ? — most  natural,  if  we  consider  the  uncertain 
orthography  of  that  day,  but  how  unlikely  to  be  planned? 
Again,  it  is  only  by  inference  and  after  long  search  that  I  con 

*  My  Paris  informant  tells  me  that  M.  Bach  never  wrote  a  verse  of 
poetry  in  his  life 


INVOLVES  VIOLENT   IMPKOBABILITIES.  433 

elude  the  words  "  triste  et  cloistr^s  "  to  be  in  exact  accordanco 
with  the  facts :  how  remote  the  chance,  then,  that  M.  Bach, 
dui'ing  that  mysterious  night,  should  have  acted  upon  a  similar 
conclusion  ? 

Yet  again :  if  the  communication  indicating  the  hiding-place 
of  the  parchment  be  a  forgery,  then  M.  Bach  must  have  found 
the  parchment,  without  any  directions  as  to  its  whereabouts, 
before  the  spinet  was  sent  to  the  Retrospective  Museum.  Is 
it  within  the  bounds  of  probability  that  the  surprising  discov- 
ery of  such  an  interesting  document  should  have  been  studiously 
kept  concealed  from  every  one,  the  spinet  sent  off  under  false 
pretences  to  the  Museum,  and  then  the  communication  con- 
cocted as  an  excuse  to  send  for  the  instrument  again  and  insti- 
tute a  pretended  search? 

I  do  not  think  that  dispassionate  readers  will  accept  such 
violent  improbabilities.  But  if  not,  what  interesting  sugges- 
tions touching  spirit-intercourse  and  spirit-identity  conned 
themselves  with  this"  simple  narrative  of  M.  Bach's  spinet  I 


19 


■J 


CHAPTER  in. 

A   BEAUTIFUL   SPIRIT   MANIFESTING  HEESELT. 

More  than  forty  years  ago  there  died  a  young  English  lady, 
whom  I  knew  intimately.  She  had  enjoyed  all  the  advantages 
of  the  most  finished  education  that  her  country  affords  ;  spoke 
French  and  Italian  fluently,  had  travelled  over  Europe,  there 
meeting  many  distinguished  persons  of  the  day.  And  she  had 
been  favored  by  nature  as  much  as  by  fortune.  She  was  as 
amiable  as  accomplished,  gifted  with  strong  affections,  great 
simplicity,  and  a  temperament  eminently  spiritual  and  refined. 
I  shall  call  her  Violet.* 

When,  twenty-five  years  after  her  death,  I  first  instituted 
researches  in  Spiritualism,  the  thought  crossed  my  mind  that 
if  those  who  once  took  an  interest  in  us  during  earth-Kfe,  were 
permitted  still  to  commune  with  us  when  they  had  passed  to 
another  phase  of  being,  Violet's  spirit,  of  all  others,  might  an- 
j  nounce  itself   to  me.     But  I  have  never,  on  any  occasion, 
\  evoked  spirits ;  deeming  it  wisest  and  best  to  await  their  good    \ 
\^  pleasure.     And  when  month  after  month  passed  away  and  no  / 
sign  came,  I  had  quite  ceased  to  expect  it,  or  to  dwell  upon 
such  a  possibility. 

I  can  scarcely  express  to  the  reader  my  surprise  and  emotion 
when,  during  a  sitting  held  October  13,  1856,  at  Naples  (Mrs. 
Owen  and  one  other  lady,  not  a  professional  medium,  being 
present),  the  followiag  incidents  occurred. 

The  Promise  kept. 

The  name  of  Violet  was  suddenly  spelled  out.     After  my 

*  Her  true  baptismal  name  (a  somewhat  uncommon  one),  which  I  do 
not  feel  justified  in  giving,  is,  like  that  with  which  I  have  replaced  it, 
typical  of  a  favorite  flower. 


( 


AN   OLD  PROMISE   KEDPT.  435 

C astonishment  had  somewhat  subsided,  I  asked  mentally,  with  \ 
what  intent  a  name  so  well-remembered  had  been  announced.  J 
Answer. — "  Gave  pro — " 

There  the  spelling  stopped.  Repeated  invitations  to  proceed 
were  unavailing  :  not  another  letter  could  we  obtain.  At  last 
it  occurred  to  me  to  ask  :  "  Are  the  letters  p,  r,  o,  correct  ? 

Answer. — "  No." 

Question. — "  Is  the  word  *  gave '  correct  ?  " 

Answer. — "  Yes." 

Then  I  said  :  "  Please  begin  the  word  after  *  gave  '  over 
again :  "  whereupon  it  spelled  out,  now  and  then  correcting  a 
letter,  the  sentence : 

"  Gave  a  written  promise  to  remember  you,  even  after 
death." 

I  think  that  no  human  being  except  such  as  have  been  unex- 
pectedly brought,  as  I  was  then,  almost  within  speech  of  the 
next  world  and  its  denizens,  can  realize  the  feeling  which  came 
over  me,  as  these  words  slowly  connected  themselves.  If  there 
was  one  recollection  of  my  youth  that  stood  out,  beyond  all 
others,  it  was  the  reception,  from  Violet,  of  a  letter  written  in 
prospect  of  death  and  containing,  to  the  very  words,  the  prom- 
ise which  now,  after  half  a  lifetime,  came  back  to  me  from  be- 
yond the  bourn.  Such  evidence  as  it  was  to  me  it  can  be  to 
no  one  else.  I  have  the  letter  still ;  but  its  existence  was  un- 
known except  to  me :  it  has  never  been  seen  by  any  one.  How 
little  could  I  foresee,  when  I  first  read  it,  that,  after  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  in  a  far,  foreign  land,  the  writer  wovdd  be  enabled 
to  tell  me  that  she  had  kept  her  word ! 

A  few  days  afterward,  namely  during  a  session  held  on 
October  18,  the  same  spirit  having  announced  herself,  I  ob- 
tained, to  various  mental  questions,  replies  characterized  by 
the  same  pertinency  and  exactitude  as  are  above  evinced ;  the 
subjects  of  my  questions  being  of  a  private  character  and  the  true 
replies  being  known  to  me  alone.  There  was  not  a  single  fail- 
m  e ;  and,  in  the  course  of  these  replies,  allusions  were  made  to 


"J 


43 G  A   WONDERFTTL   PROOF 

circumstances  with  which,  so  far  as  I  know  or  believe,  no  one 
living  in  this  world  is  acquainted  except  myself. 

It  is  within  my  knowledge  that  many  results  similar  to  the 
above  have  been  obtained  by  others.     Yet  very  few  of  these 
reach  the  public  at  all ;  and  when  they  do,  they  are  usually 
couched   in   the   most   general   and   unsatisfactory  terms.     It 
needs,  in  such  cases,  as  prompting  motive  to  overcome  a  natural 
reluctance,  the  earaest  wish,  by  such  disclosure,  to  serve  truth, 
and  supply  important  testimony  on  a  subject  of  vital  import- 
.*^^     ance  to  humankind.     Let  us  examine  that  which  is  here  sup- 
plied. 
^""^     The  results  obtained  were  not  due,  in  any  sense,  to  what  has 
/  sometimes  been  assumed   as  a  cause   of  similar  phenomena, 
I    under  the  name  of  *'  expectant  attention."     We  were,  at  the 
1      \    time,  in  search  of  various  physical  tests  which  we  had  heard 
•     that  others  alleged  they  had  witnessed ;  as  motion  without  con- 
tact, writing  by  occult  means,  the  exhibition  of  hands  and  the 
like.     What  came  was  utterly  unforeseen,  by  me  the  person 
chiefly  concerned  as  certainly  as  by  the  other  assistants.     When 
long-slumbering  associations  were  called  up  by  the  sudden  a{>- 
pearance  of  a  name,  it  was  assuredly  in  response  to  no  thought 
or  will  or  hope  of  mine,  if  consciousness  be  a  guide  to  the  ex 
istence  of  thought  or  feeling.     And  if  not  traceable  to  me,  far 
;    less  can  it  be  imagined  to  have  originated  in  either  of  the  other 
1    assistants.     They  knew  nothing  of  the  letter,  not  even  that  it 
*   existed.     They  knew  nothing  of  my  question,  for  it  had  been 
mentally   propounded.     This   narrows   down  the  question  of 
mundane  influence  to  myself  alone. 

But  there  is  additional  proof  that  my  expectations  had  no 

agency  in  this  case.     When,  at  the  first  attempt  to  reply  to  my 

question,  the  unlooked-for  sentence  had  been  partly  spelled 

L/    (>    out — "  Gave  pro  " — it  did   occur   to  me  that  the   unfinished 

(l^    I    word  might  be  "  promise  :  "  and  it  did  suggest  itself  that  the 

\  reference  might  be  to  the  solemn  pledge  made  to  me,  so  man}? 

^.  ^|\/^ years  before,  by  Violet.     But  what  happened?     The  letter* 


OF   6PIEIT   roENTITT.  437 

fy  r,  o,  were  declared  to  be  incorrect ;  and  I  still  remember  my 
surprise  and  disappointment,  as  I  erased  them.  But  hovf 
much  was  that  surprise  increased  when  I  found  that  the  cor- 
.  rection  had  been  insisted  on,  only  to  make  room  for  a  fuller 
and  more  definite  wording ! — so  definite,  indeed,  that  if  the 
document  in  question  had  been  set  forth  in  full,  it  could  not 
have  been  more  certainly  designated.  Under  the  cii'cum- 
stances,  it  is  not  even  conceivable  that  my  mind,  or  any  intent 
of  mine,  had  anything  whatever  to  do  in  working  out  results. 
If  a  spirit-hand  had  visibly  appeared,  had  erased  the  three  let- 
tei-s,  had  inserted  the  omitted  word  "  written  "  and  then  fin- 
ished the  sentence,  it  would  have  been  more  wonderful, 
certainly ;  but  would  the  evidence  have  been  more  perfect  that 
some  occult  will — some  intention  other  than  mine — was  at 
work  to  bring  about  all  this  ?  And  if  to  no  earthly  oiigin,  to 
what  other  source  than  to  the  world  of  spirits  can  this  occult 
agency  rationally  be  traced  ? 

Yet  this  was  but  the  commencement  of  the  numerous  proofs, 
recurring  throughout  many  years,  that  have  assui-ed  me  of  the 
continued  existence,  and  the  identity,  of  a  dear  spirit-friend. 
These  came  to  me  chiefly  after  my  return  in  1859,  from  Naples 
to  the  United  States. 

Proof  from  a  Stranger,  Five  Hundred  Miles  distant. 

Five  or  six  weeks  after  the  publication  of  a  work  already 
refen-ed  to,  *  in  February,  1860,  my  publisher  introduced  to 
rae  a  gentleman  who  had  just  returned  from  Ohio,  and  who  in- 
formed me  that  my  book  had  attracted  much  attention  in  that 
State  ;  adding  that  I  might  add  to  its  circulation  by  sending  a 
copy  to  Mrs.  B — — ,  then  residing  in  Cleveland,  proprietor  of 
'  a  book-store  and  odo  of  the  editors  of  a  paper  there.  "  She 
takes  a  deep  interest  in  such  subjects,"  he  said,  "  and  is,  I  be- 
lieve, herself  a  medium." 

*  FootfaUs  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World;  published  January  1 


438  PBOOF  COMING   TO  ME   FEOM 

I  had  never  heard  of  the  lady  before,  but  I  sent  a  copy  of 
the  book,  with  a  brief  note  asking  her  acceptance  of  it,  and 
30on  had  a  reply,  dated  February  14. 

In  this  letter,  after  some  business  details,  the  writer  ex- 
pressed to  me  the  great  satisfaction  with  which  she  had  read 
the  chapter  in  "  Footfalls  "  entitled  "  The  Change  at  Death," 
and  added :  "  I  am  what  is  called  a  *  seeing  medium.'  While 
reading  that  chapter  a  female  spirit  that  I  had  never  seen  be- 
fore stood  by  me,  as  if  listening,  and  said :  '  I  guided  him  in 
writing  that ;  I  helped  to  convince  him  of  an  immortal  life.' ' 
Then  she  subjoined  a  personal  description  of  the  appearance — ■ 
including  color  of  hair  and  eyes,  complexion,  etc. — which  ex- 
actly corresponded  to  that  of  Violet.  She  added  that  a  Cleve- 
land merchant,  who  came  in  at  the  time  and  who  is  an  impres- 
sional  medium  (though  not  known,  nor  desiring  to  be  known, 
as  such),  said  :  "You  have  a  new  spirit  to  visit  you  to-day — a 

lady.     She  says  she  knew  a  Mrs.  D ,  naming  an  English 

lady  not  then  living ;  known  to  Mrs.  B {not  to  the  mer- 
chant), by  literary  reputation,  but  never  having  been  known  to 
either  of  them  personally. 

Now  Mrs.   D was  Violet's  sister.     But  in  my  reply, 

which  was  partly  on  business,  I  neither  alluded  to  the  personal 
description  that  had  been  sent  to  me,  nor  to  what  had  been 

said  of  Mrs.  D .     In  order  to  make  the  test  as  complete  as 

possible  I  refrained  from  any  expression  which  might  lead  Mrs. 
B to  suppose  that  I  recognized  the  person  who  had  ap- 
peared to  her.  I  merely  added,  to  the  business  part  of  my 
letter,  a  few  words  to  the  effect  that  if  she  could  obtain  the 
spirit's  name,  or  any  further  particulars  tending  to  identify 
her,  she  would  confer  an  obligation  on  me  by  informing  me 
of  it. 

In  reply  I  received  two  letters;  one  dated  February  27, 
the  other  A.pril  5.     In  these  were  stated  :  first,  the  baptismal 

name ;  second,  that  the  spirit  said  that  Mrs.  D was  her 

Bister ;  third,  one  or  two  further  particulars  as  to  Violet :  all 
this,  accurately  according  to  the  facts.     Mrs.  B went  ontf 


THE   DISTANCE   OF   FIVE   HUNDRED   MILES.  439 

Bay  that  some  other  details  were  added ;  but  these  seemed  to 
refer  to  matters  of  so  private  and  confidential  a  character  that 
she  thought  it  might  be  best  to  state  them  personally  if,  in  re- 
turning to  the  West,  I  could  pass  through  Cleveland.  Being, 
however,  obliged  to  start  for  Eiu'ope  on  business  in  two  weeks, 
I  asked,  in  reply,  that  she  would  put  these  on  paper,  which 
she  did  in  a  fourth  letter,  dated  April  20.  The  particulars 
which  she  gave  me  had  been  obtained  partly  by  herself,  partly 
tl  trough  the  mediumship  of  the  merchant  to  whom  I  have  above 
referred. 

When  1  said  that  the  evidence  in  this  case  could  never  be 
to  others  what  it  was  to  me,  I  but  faintly  shadowed  forth  the    i^^ 
truth.     A  portion  of  the  wonders  that  opened  upon  me  the    1 
reader  can,  indeed,  appreciate.     I    had   written  a  brief  and 
purely  business  letter  to  a  complete  stranger,  five  hundred 
miles  away,  in  a  town  which  Violet  had  never  seen,  where  I 
myself  (so  far  as  I  can  remember)  had  never  been.     Anything 
like  suggestion  or  thought-reading  or  magnetic  rapiwrt  was, 
under  the  circumstances,  out  of  the  question.     Equally  so  was     /O 
any  knowledge,  by  a  Cleveland  editor  or  a  Cleveland  mer- ^ j 
chant,  of  a  lady  unknown  to  fame,  who  had  died  thousands  of 
miles  away,  in  another  hemisphere.     Yet  from  these  distant 
strangers  comes  to  me,  unasked  and  as  unexpected  as  a  visit 
from  Heaven,  first  a  personal  description  agreeing  with  that 
of  Violet  and  the  mention  of  a  name  which  strongly  indicated 
that  she  was  the  person  who  had  been  communicating  with 
them ;  then  her  own  name ;  then  her  relationship  with  Mrs. 
D :  all,  without  the  slightest  clue  afforded  by  myself. 

These  things  my  readers  may  appreciate,  and   they  supply 

wonderful  proofs  of  identity ;  but  when,  as  in  Mrs.  B 's 

last  letter,  various  minute  particulars  connected  with  Violet's 
early  life  and  mine — particulars  unknown  to  any  Kving  crea- 
ture on  this  side  the  Great  Boundary — particulars  indicated 
only,  so  that  the  writer  herself  could  but  very  partially  under- 
stand their  import — particulars  buried  away  not  in  the  past  alone 
but  in  hearts  of  which  they  were  the  most  sacred  remembr^i- 


440  WHAT   WAS   THE   ATTRACTION? 

ces — when  these  things  came  forth  to  light  under  the  eyes  oi 
the  survivor,  they  were,  to  him,  internal  evidence  of  the  contin 
ueu  existence,  beyond  the  death-change,  of  human  memoriest 
thoughts,  affections — evidence  such  as  cannot  be  transferred  to 
any  second  person :  such  evidence  as,  from  its  very  nature,  can 
be  received  directly  alone. 

Here  it  may  occur  to  the  reader  that,  as  all  thicgs,  spiritual 
as  well  as  material,  are  subject  to  law,  there  must  have  been 

some  attraction  or  cause  of  election,  determining  Mrs.  B • 

as  the  medium,  or  Cleveland  as  the  place,  whence  such  a  com- 
munication should  come  to  me. 
■^^  No  doubt.     And  one  can  see  how  this  may  have  been.     Mrs. 

B has  the  olden  gift,*  by  St.  Paul  called  the  "  discerning 

of  spirits ; "  and,  at  the  time  the  spirit  appeared,  she  was  read- 
ing— with  approval,  it  seems — a  chapter  on  the  "  Change  ai 
Death,"  into  which  I  had  thrown  some  of  the  strongest  and 
deepest  of  my  religious  convictions,  f  This  seems  to  have 
been  the  attraction ;  for  it  was  during  the  perusal  of  that  por- 
tion of  my  book  that  Yiolet,  for  the  first  time,  showed  herself 
to  Mrs.  B . 

Is  thi^  explanation  far-fetched  ?  Is  it  irrational  to  ascribe, 
to  so  slight  a  cause,  the  spirit's  imexpected  visit  ?  Yet  there 
had  come  to  my  knowledge,  a  year  before,  a  similar  case,  per- 
fectly authenticated. 

The  Apparition  of  the  Betrothed. 

In  October  of  the  year  1854,  my  father  called  on  Miss 
A ,  a  young  lady  of  his  acquaintance,  residing  near  Lon- 
don. Her  powers  as  a  medium,  though  known  only  to  a  pri- 
vate circle  of  friends,  are  of  the  highest  order.  She  has  habit- 
ually discerned  spirits  from  her  earliest  age,  years  before  the 
modem  phase  of  Spiritualism  had  come  up.     Various  other 

*  1  Corinthians  xii.  10. 

f  FootfaUs  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World,  Book  vi  ohap.  ly 
pp.  476-503. 


GEAOB  FLETCHEE.  441 

manifestations,   also,  of  a  striking  kind,   occur  in  her  pres 
ence. 

My  father  found  her  somewhat  indisposed,  reclining  on  a 
sofa,  engaged  in  reading.  She  laid  aside  her  book,  as  he  en- 
tered, and  was  about  to  rise ;  but  he  begged  her  to  remain, 
adding  that,  as  he  had  come  hoping  for  opportunity  of  examin- 
ing spiritual  phenomena,  he  would  sit  down  alone  at  a  table 
not  far  from  the  sofa,  to  ascertain  if  he  could  obtain  rappings. 
He  did  so ;  and  after  a  time  raps  were  heard,  though  Misa 
A did  not  touch  the  table. 

"  Can  you  perceive,"  my  father  asked,  "  the  presence  of  any 
spirits?" 

"  Yes,"  she  replied  ;  "  I  see  one,  that  of  a  young  lady." 

"  Can  you  tell  her  name  ?  " 

"  No ;  she  has  never  given  it  to  me,  though  I  have  several 
times  seen  her,  as  I  sat  reading  this  book  " — and  she  pointed 
to  the  volume  beside  her — "  but  perhaps  we  can  get  the  name 
by  rapping." 

And,  in  eflfect,  there  was  immediately  spelled  out,  "  Grace 
Fletcher." 

"  What !  "  said  my  father ;  "  my  old  friend,  Grace  Fletch- 
er ?" 

"  Who  is  Grace  Fletcher  ?  "  the  young  lady  asked :  "I  never 
heard  the  name  before." 

"  You  could  not  have  known  her,  for  she  died  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago.  I  knew  her  intimately ;  and  a  more  beautiful 
character,  moral  and  intellectual,  I  never  met." 

"  It  is  singular,"  said  the  young  lady, "  that  I  almost  always 
see  her  spirit  when  I  sit  down  to  study  this  book ;  and  onl^ 
then." 

"  Pray  what  work  is  it  you  have  been  s'iudying  ? "  my 
father  asked. 

"  Dr.  Thomas  Brown's  Mental  Philosophy ; "  and  she  handed 
my  father  the  volume. 

He  took  it,  exclaiming :  "  How  strange  I  What  a  wonderfiJ 
coincidence  I " 
19* 


4t42  DR.   BROWN   AND   SUSS   FLETCHER. 

**  What  is  there  •wonderful  in  it?  " 

My  father  then  explained  that,  as  he  had  always  understood, 
Dr.  Brown  and  Miss  Fletcher  were  deeply  attached  to  each 
other,  and  that  their  intimacy  was  expected  to  ripen  into  mar- 
riage. *'  But  she  died  at  nineteen,"  he  added,  "  and  I  do  not 
think  poor  Brown  ever  got  over  it ;  for  he  survived  her  three 
or  four  years  only." 

*  Grace  Fletcher  who,  from  all  I  have  heard  of  her,  well  de- 
served my  father's  encomium,  was  the  daughter  of  a  talented 
mother,  long  noted  in  the  literary  circles  of  Edinburgh  and 
who  died  some  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  since,  at  a  very  ad- 
vanced age.  I  have  ascertained  through  a  lady  who  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  family  that  between  Dr.  Brown  and  Miss 
Fletcher  there  was  well  known  to  'exist,  probably  not  a  posi- 
tive engagement,  but  certainly  so  strong  a  mutual  attachment, 
that  their  friends  felt  confident  it  would  be  a  match.  She  died 
about  the  year  1816  ;  and  he,  in  1820.* 

I  had  the  above  from  the  young  lady  herself;  f  and  I  know 
that  its  accuracy  may  be  strictly  depended  on.  One  of  the  re- 
collections of  my  childhood  is  my  father's  sorrow  when  the 
unexpected  news  of  Grace  Fletcher's  death  reached  him. 

The  point  in  this  case  which  gives  it  value  is,  that  the  young 
seeress  had  never  heard  Miss  Fletcher's  name,  nor  had  she  the 
least  idea,  till  my  father  informed  her,  of  the  connection  there 
had  existed  in  life  between  the  lady  whose  spirit  the  raps  an- 
nounced, and  the  author  of  the  book  during  the  perusal  of 
which  that  spirit  was  wont  to  appear.     As  a  chance  coinci- 

*  In  tlie  prime  of  life,  aged  forty-two.  He  was  Professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy  ia  the  University  of  Ediaburgh.  His  well-known  Lectures 
on  the  PJdlosopJiy  of  tlie  Human  Mind^  above  referred  to,  reached  the 
eighth  edition  in  1834. 

f  In  1859, 1  met  her  ia  London  at  Lady  B 's,  where  she  was  always 

a  welcome  guest.  All  her  friends  speak  of  her  in  the  highest  terms, 
and  my  own  acquaintance  with  her,  through  several  months,  confirmed 
my  opinion  of  her  intelligence  and  integrity. 


WITH  ME.   FOSTEB.  443 

dence  we  cannot  reasonably  regard  it.  Standing  alone  it  ia 
insnflScienfc  foundation  for  a  theory.     But  the  appearance  ol 

Violet  to  Mrs.  B ,  an  utter  stranger  alike  to  her  and  to 

me,  during  the  perusal  of  a  book  of  mine,  is  an  incident  of  the 
same  class ;  and  if  such  should  be  found  to  accumulate,  they 
will  furnish  proof  that  a  spirit  may  occasionally — though  it  be 
rarely — look  back  from  its  next  phase  of  life  to  this,  drawn 
down  by  the  desire  to  note  the  effect  which  efforts,  made  on 
earth,  by  a  dear  friend,  to  enlighten  mankind,  may,  from  time 
to  time,  be  producing.  It  is  a  reasonable  belief  that  benevolent 
spirits,  in  their  world,  continue  to  take  interest  in  the  im- 
provement of  ours. 

1  know  not  that,  in  this  case,  I  can  adduce  stronger  proof  of 
identity  than  the  above,  but  I  have  had  additional  testa,  some 
of  which  may  tend  to  fortify  the  faith  of  my  readers. 

Typical  and  Literal  Tests. 

Some  two  weeks  after  the  receipt  of  Mrs.  B -'s  second 

letter,  namely ^  on  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1860,  in  the  fore- 
noon, I  called  on  Mr.  Charles  Foster,  to  whose  mediumship  I 
have  already  referred.  A  lady  well  and  favorably  known  to 
the  literary  world,  and  whom  I  shall  call  Miss  P ,  accom- 
panied me.  The  visit  was  at  her  request,  as  she  had  never 
witnessed  any  spiritual  phenomena  whatever;  but  had  heard 
much  about  them,  and  desired  to  judge  for  herself.  She  had 
never  seen  Mr.  Foster. 

I  mentioned  to  Mr.  Foster,  in  a  general  way,  that  I  had 
recently  received,  from  a  stranger  at  a  distance,  an  alleged 
communication  from  a  spirit,  which  had  passed  away  many 
years  before ;  but  I  studiously  withheld  the  name  and  all  clue 
to  personal  identity,  adding,  however,  that  I  should  be  glad  if, 
through  him,  any  further  test  could  be  given. 

During  the  i^st  part  of  the  session  Mr.  Foster  addressed 

himself  entirely  to  Miss  P .     The  incredulous  look  with 

which  that  lady  sat  down  soon  changed  to  one  of  seriousness, 


444  A  TYPICAL   TEST. 

then  of  deepest  feeling.  The  test  she  received  that  day  led  ta 
researches  which  made  her  a  spiritualist  for  life.* 

Then  he  turned  suddenly  to  me :  "  Mr.  Owen,  I  see  a  spirit 
— a  lady — standing  beside  you,  perhaps  the  same  of  whom  you 
spoke  to  me.  She  holds  in  her  hands  a  basket  of  flowers. 
Ah !  that  is  peculiar ;  they  are  all  violets." 

T. — "  Does  she  communicate  her  name  ?  " 

Mr.  Foster  paused.  After  a  time,  "No,"  he  said,  "but  she 
has  taken  one  of  the  flowers — a  single  violet — and  laid  it  be- 
fore you.     Has  all  this  any  meaning  for  you  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  But  we  ought  to  get  the  name.     I  usually  do." 

And,  at  his  request,  I  wrote  down  seven  female  baptismai 
names,  including  that  of  Violet,  taking  care  not  to  pause  more 
at  one  than  at  the  other. 

Mr.  Foster  took  the  paper,  and,  with  a  single  glance  at  it, 
tore  off  each  name  separately ;  rolled  them  up  into  small  pellets 
and  threw  these  down  on  a  pile  of  pellets  (some  twelve  or  four- 
teen) which  he  had  previously  made,  some  of  them  being  blank. 
There  were  thus  about  twenty  pellets  in  all.  He  bade  me  take 
them  up  and  hold  them,  in  my  open  hand,  under  the  table.     1 

*  I  am  at  liberty  to  give  an  outHno  only  of  the  test  here  referred  to, 
and  have  substituted  another  name  (Medway)  for  the  true  one, 

Mr.  Foster  said  he  saw  the  appearance  of  a  yoimg  man  standing 

beside  Miss  P ;  and  he  described  his  appearance,     "Above  his 

head,"  he  went  on,  "I  see  the  words;  'Fidelity  even  beyond  the 

grave  ! '  "  Miss  P 's  face  betrayed  much  emotion,  mingled,  however, 

I  plainly  saw,  with  doubt.  Then  Foster  suddenly  added:  "Ah!  here 
is  a  name — Medway."  Upon  which  the  lady  sank  her  face  on  the 
table,  without  a  word.  Nor,  throughout  the  rest  of  the  session,  did 
she  allude  to  what  had  passed, 

I  afterward  mentioned  the  name  to  a  sister  of  Miss  P ,  asking  if 

he  had  ever  been  among  their  acquaintances. 

' '  How  did  you  hear  of  him  ?  "  she  asked  me,  astonished. 

I  told  her. 

"It  is  all  trae,"  she  said  in  reply.  "Many  years  ago  we  were  inti- 
joately  acquainted  with  him.  My  sister  was  engaged  to  him  ;  hvA  ha 
died  a  short  time  before  the  day  appointed  for  their  marriagfe." 


A   LITERAL   TEST.  445 

did  so.  After  a  time  he  said  to  me :  "  Tlie  spirits  desire  to 
have  year  hat  under  the  table."  Accordingly  he  put  it  there, 
but  immediately  replaced  both  his  hands  on  the  table,  saying  j 
"  Spirit,  when  you  have  selected  the  pellet,  will  you  let  ua 
know  by  rapping?"  About  a  minute  passed  when  the  rapa 
sounded. 

3fr.  Foster.—''  Shall  I  take  up  the  hat  ?  " 

Answer. — "  No." 

Z— "Shalll?" 

Answer. — "  No." 

Miss  P.—"  Shall  I  ?  " 

A  nswer. — "  Yes." 

Thereupon  the  table,  with  a  sudden  and  somewhat  violent 

movement,  tilted  up  on  Miss  P 's  side,  so  that,  without 

moving  from  her  seat,  she  could  reach  the  hat  from  the  floor. 
Therein,  lying  between  two  gloves,  was  the  pellet.  She  handed 
it  to  me  and  I  was  about  to  open  it,  when  Mr.  Foster  said : 

"  Please  do  not  open  it  yet.  Let  me  try  if  I  can  get  the 
same  name  written  under  the  table." 

He  tore  oflf  a  small  piece  of  thin  paper,  took  that  and  a  pen- 
cil in  one  hand,  and  held  both  for  twelve  or  fifteen  seconds 
beneath  the  table.  Then,  withdrawing  his  hand,  after  a  glance 
at  the  paper  and  the  remark,  "  I  believe  there  is  a  name  on 
it,"  he  handed  it  to  me.  The  name  was  in  pencil,  but  I  conld 
not  make  out  a  single  letter.  At  Mr.  Foster's  suggestion  I 
held  the  paper,  reversed,  against  the  window-pane.  Then  I 
read  distinctly  through  the  paper  from  the  unwritten  siae,  in 
minute  characters,  the  name  Violet. 

Then  only  I  first  opened  the  pellet.     The  same  name  there." 

I  did  not  suffer  Mr.  Foster  to  see  either.  After  a  few 
seconds  his  arm  seemed  slightly  con\^lsed,  as  by  a  feeble  elec» 
trie  shock  ;  and  he  said :  "  The  name  is  on  my  arm  ; "  where. 

*  I  have  preserved  the  bit  of  thin  paper,  and  also  the  peUet.  I  need 
scarcely  here  remind  the  reader,  that,  as  already  stated,  Violet  is  an 
assumed  name.  Of  course  it  was  the  true  name,  and  the  flower  typica] 
of  that  name,  wliich  were  actually  given. 


446  THE  NAME  ON  THE  ABM. 

upon  he  bared  his  left  arm  to  the  elbow,  and  I  read  thereon 
distinctly  the  name  Yiolet.  I  did  not,  however,  pronounof 
it,  but  left  him  to  spell  it  out,  letter  by  letter.  Tb*^  lettera 
looked  as  if  they  had  been  traced  by  a  painter's  brush,  with 
pink  color.  They  were  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  height : 
printed  characters,  as  if  somewhat  carelessly  done,  but  perfectly 
legible ;  the  strokes  being  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness. The  first  letter  was  near  the  elbow  joint,  and  the  rest 
were  traced  along  the  inside  of  the  arm ;  the  last  letter  being 
on  part  of  the  palm  next  to  the  wrist,  just   below  the  root 

of  the  thumb.    Miss  P read  the  name,  deciphering  it  with 

out  any  difficulty. 

During  all  the  time  of  these  experiments  except  at  the  mo 
ment  when  he  placed  my  hat  on  the  ground,  and  during  the 
few  seconds  when  he  put  the  paper  under  the  table  to  have  the 
name  written  on  it,  Mr.  Foster  sat  quietly  with  both  hands  on 
the  table. 

The  room  Was  well  lighted  by  two  windows* 

Miss  P had  never  heard  Violet's  name }  nor,  as  1  hav» 

already  stated,  had  Mr.  Foster. 

Here  were  four  tests :  not  presenting  themselves  spontane- 
ously, indeed,  as  did  those  which  came  to  me  through  Mrs.  B ^ ; 

on  the  contrary  obtained  by  aid  of  a  professional  medium  whom 
I  had  visited,  hoping  for  something  of  the  kind :  but  yet  to  be 
judged  fairly,  by  their  internal  evidence,  notwithstanding. 

1.  The  appearance  to  Mr.  Foster  of  the  basket  of  flowers, 
and  the  single  flower  laid  down  before  me,  when  I  asked  for 
Violet's  name. 

2.  The  pellet,  selected  out  of  twenty,  taken  from  my  hand 
and  placed  in  my  hat. 

3.  The  writing,  under  the  table,  of  the  name  so  that  it  read 
on  the  rev  3rse  side. 

And  4.  The  name  written  on  the  arm. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  basket  containing  a  single  species  only 
of  flower,  and  the  name  of  that  species  corresponding  to  the 
name  of  the  alleged  spirit,  together  with  the  selection  of  a  sin- 


WBmNG    TTNDER   THE   TABLE.  447 

gle  flower  when  I  asked  for  the  name,  cannot  rationally  be 
asciibed  to  chance. 

As  to  the  pellet,  since  Mr.  Foster  had  his  hands  on  the 
table,  full  in  view,  it  was  a  physical  impossibility  that  he 
should  have  taken  it,  even  if  he  had  known  which,  out  of  the 
twenty,  to  select. 

As  to  the  writing  under  the  table,  though  it  may  be  alleged 
that  practice  might  enable  a  person  to  write  so  that  it  should 
read  on  the  reverse  side,  and  that  this  might  have  been  done 
with  one  hand  on  the  knee,  yet  the  writing  itself  (now  before 
me)  seems  to  refute  this.  I  have  just  carefully  examined  it. 
The  paper  is  nearly  as  thin  as  tracing  paper ;  the  name  is  writ- 
ten in  a  current  lady's  hand,  as  if  the  pencil-^oLnt  had  just 
lightly  touched  the  surface,  the  pencil  not  having  sank  at  all  into 
the  paper ;  and  there  is  no  indication  of  the  writing  on  the  re- 
verse. I  do  not  think  it  possible  for  any  one,  holding  a  pencil 
and  paper,  in  one  hand,  for  fifteen  seconds,  under  a  table,  to 
have  produced  a  word  thus  written.  But,  in  addition  to  this, 
Foster  had  no  clue  whatever  to  the  name. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  name  on  the  arm,  with  this  added 
difficulty  :  the  arm  having  been  covered,  up  to  the  moment 
when  the  medium  bared  it  and  showed  the  name,  and  his  hands 
up  to  that  time,  having  been  seen  by  us  resting  quietly  on  the 
table,  by  what  possible  expedient  could  he  have  produced  the 
pink  lettering  ? 

During  the  decade  from  1860  to  1870  I  have  had,  through 
various  mediums,  numerous  communications  from  Violet: 
none,  however,  of  any  length ;  the  longest  being  that  relative 
to  the  birth  of  Christ.  *  They  were  usually  only  brief,  cordial 
messages  of  affection,  or  short  suggestions  on  ethical,  philo- 
sophical, or  spiritual  subjects.  On  two  occasions,  at  intervals 
{)f  years,  instead  of  the  name,  there  was  only  allusion  made  to 
the  flower.     One  of  these  came  through  a  Boston  medium,  the 

*  See  Book  i.  chapter  3,  where  it  is  given  in  full. 


448  THE  EMBLEM  THAT  APPEARED 

other  through  a  lady  (not  a  professional  medium)  in  Washing 
ton  city :  both  being  strangers  to  each  other  and  to  Violet'l 
name  or  history. 

Finally  I  obtained,  by  accident  as  we  usually  say,  a  remark 
able  test,  differing  in  character  from  any  of  the  above. 

The  PoKiRAiT  WITH  Emblem. 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  being  then  in  New  Yom,  I  made  tha 
acquaintance  of  a  Mr.  Anderson,  who,  without  previous  in- 
struction and  by  spirit  influence,  as  he  alleged,  nad  produced 
likenesses  of  deceased  persons,  many  of  which  were  recognized 
by  their  friends.  He  stated  to  me  that  a  clergyman  of  his  ac- 
quaintance desired  to  meet  me ;  and  I  met  him,  by  appointment, 
at  Mr.  Anderson's  rooms,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-first 
of  March. 

While  we  were  conversing,  Mr.  Anderson  brought  me  a  large 
sheet  of  drawing-paper,  requesting  me  to  observe  that  it  waa 
blank  on  both  sides,  and  asking  me  to  tear  a  small  piece  from 
one  corner  of  the  sheet,  so  as  to  be  able  to  identify  it.  I  tore 
irregular  pieces  from  two  comers.  He  then  requested  me  to 
note  the  hour,  and  retired  to  an  inner  room. 

I  supposed  that  I  should  have  a  portrait ;  and,  as  my  father 
was  a  well-known  maa,  of  whom  many  engraved  likenesses 
exist,  I  thought  it  would  probably  be  one  of  him,  and  felt  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  even  if  it  resembled,  it  would  be  an 
insufficient  test. 

But  in  exactly  twenty-eight  minutes,  Mr.  Anderson,  retum- 
mg,  pinned  against  the  wall  a  portrait,  in  pencil,  not  of  my 
father,  but  a  female  head  and  bust,  life-size,  which,  from  its 
general  outline  and  expression,  I  recognized  at  once  as  Violet's. 
On  looking  again,  however,  the  features  seemed  to  me  more 
rc^^ular  than  her's  and  the  whole  face  idealized.  The  2^086  waa 
graceful :  my  eye  ran  over  the  lines,  but  was  suddenly  arrested 
— could  it  be  ?  Hardly  trusting  my  senses,  I  went  closer  to 
examine.     It  was  unmistakable.     There — as  ornament  at  the 


ON  AN  A1J.EGED   SPmrr-POBTEAIT.  449 

Lower  point  of  the  opening  of  the  dress  in  front — ^was  the  typi 
cal  flower  I 

I  need  not  say  that  I  had  never  made  the  least  allusion  ta 
Violet  in  Mr.  4.nderson's  presence ;  and  that  I  am  convinced 
he  spoke  truth  when  he  declared  to  me  that  he  had  never  heard 
of  her.* 

I  carefully  adjusted  the  torn  fragments  of  paper  to  the  cor- 
ners whence  1  had  taken  them,  and  found  the  proof  thus 
afforded  that  it  was  the  same  sheet  I  had  marked  twenty-eight 
minutes  before  ifc  reappeared,  absolu'-^ly  perfect. 

I  showed  the  portrait,  some  days  afterward,  to  my  friend 
Mr.  Carpenter,  the  artist,  f  without  telling  him  how  I  obtained  it. 

He  examined  it  carefully.  "  A  Kttle  out  of  drawing,"  he 
said,  "  but  clever  and  graceful :  peculiar,  too.   A  young  artist  ?  " 

*'  One  without  much  experience,  I  believe.  How  long  would 
a  good  artist  take  to  make  such  a  portrait  ?  " 

"  That  depends  upon  whether  he  hit  off  the  likeness  at  once. 
If  he  did  and  worked  hard,  he  might  finish  it  in  a  day.  But, 
in  a  general  way,  it  would  take  two  days,  perhaps  more." 

"  How  if  the  artist  had  begun  and  finished  it  within  half  an 
hour?" 

"  There  is  no  man  living  who  could  do  so." 

That  was  my  opinion  also,  supposing  the  artist  left  to  his  own 
resources :  but  I  was  glad  to  have  it  confirmed  by  so  compe- 
tent a  judge.  J 

Upon  me  these  cumulative  proofs  of  identity  have  produced 

*  Mr.  Anderson  appeared  to  me  a  quiet,  frank,  simple  man :  speak- 
ing modestly  of  what  lie  deemed  a  spiritual  gift,  and  blaming  himself 
for  his  own  wavering  faith  in  its  continuance.  He  would  accept  of  no 
remuneration  from  me :  it  having  been,  as  he  reminded  me,  a  volun- 
teered effort. 

f  Best  known  as  the  author  of  that  most  truthful  and  valuable  his- 
torical painting  :  The  Emancipation  Proclamation  before  the  Cabinet. 

X  I  shall  be  glad  to  show  to  any  artist  or  other  sincere  inquirer,  the 
original  portrait,  with  the  attesting  fragments,  exactly  as  I  obtained  it, 
at  the  end  of  the  twenty-eight  minutes. 


450  MY  coNvionoN. 

a  profound  conviction  tliat  Violet  has  manifested  herself;  keep- 
ing a  sacred  promise  after  long  years,  and  sending  to  me,  from 
another  sphere,  missives  of  friendship  and  words  of  instruction. 
I  cannot  judge  what  degree  of  belief  this  recital  of  these  proofe 
may  create  in  others. 


BOOK  V. 

THE  CROWNING  PEOOP  OP  IMMORTALITY. 

"And  when  they  heard  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  ftom« 
mocked  :  and  others  said,  *  We  will  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter.'^— 
Acts  xvii.  32. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   GREAT  FAITH-ARTICLE  OP   THE   FIRST   CENTURY, 

**  If  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised  :  and  if  Christ  be  not 
raised,  your  faith  is  vain."— 1  Cobenthlans  xv.  16,  17. 

According  to  the  best  authorities,  the  Book  of  Acts  was 
written  about  thirty  years  after  the  crucifixion.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  and  instructive  of  historical  episodes,  if  we 
read  it,  as  but  few  of  us  do,  unblinded  by  the  glamour  of  stere- 
otyped preconceptions. 

There,  was,  of  course,  no  New  Testament  in  those  days. 
During  the  first  half  of  these  thirty  years  there  was  not  even  a 
biography  of  Christ ;  and  but  one,  that  of  Matthew,  until  near 
the  close  of  that  period:  nor  have  we  any  proof  that  even 
Matthew's  narrative  was  then  known,  or  read,  in  the  Christian 
congregations.  All  the  apostolic  letters  of  Paul,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Thessalonians,*  were  written  but  a  few  years  be- 
fore the  Acts  were  penned.  The  same  is  true  of  the  other 
epistles ;  with  the  exception  of  that  of  James,  which  last  was 
written  about  the  middle  of  these  thirty  years. 

Thus  the  faith  of  the  disciples  during  this  period  was  based 

•  Written  about  the  year  53,  or  twenty  years  after  Christ's  death. 


^52  THE  EAELY  CHBISTIAN  FAITH 

only  on  personal  recollections,  and  on  oral  traditions  of  recen* 
date.  It  was  much  strengthened,  no  doubt,  by  the  appearance 
among  them  of  those  spiritual  gifts  *  which  Christ  promised  to 
such  as  trusted  in  him.  f  Bat  it  was  founded  chiefly  on  one 
great  phenomenon:  the  appearance  of  Christ,  after  death,  to  a 
number  of  witnesses,  of  whom  many  yet  survived.  To  this, 
on  every  great  occasion,  the  apostles  were  wont  to  appeal.  J  It 
was,  indeed,  the  rock-foundation  of  their  creed,  failing  wliich 
they  admitted  that  the  entire  superstructure  must  fall.  "  If  the 
dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised ;  and  if  Christ  be  not 
raised,  your  faith  is  vain." 

The  triumph  of  their  faith,  then,  was,  that  immortality  had 
been  brought  to  light :  not  set  forth  as  a  probability  by  analog- 
ical argument,  not  recommended  to  belief  by  glosses  and  quid- 
dities of  the  schools ;  but  brought  into  the  light  of  day,  where 
the  senses  can  perceive  it,  where  the  highest  of  all  human  evi- 
dences can  assure  its  reality.  And  the  test-proof  of  immortal- 
ity among  these  early  disciples  of  Christ  was  tliat  the  dead  could 
return  ;  §  it  was  that  they  themselves,  to  use  the  modem  term, 
had  seen  the  apparition  of  their  Master. 

Sceptics  deny  that  they  saw  him.  Strauss,  assuming  that 
an  apparition  would  be  a  miracle,  and  holding  miracles  to 
be  impossible,  discredits  the  narrative.  Yet  he  candidly  states 
his  conviction  that  the  disciples,  self-deceived  through  the  ex- 
cited state  of  their  minds,  firmly  believed  that  Christ  had  ap- 
peared to  them.     He  says ; 

*  1  Corinthians  xii  8-11. 

f  John  xiv.  12. 

X  Acts  ii.  33  ;  iii.  15  ;  iv.  33  ;  x.  40,  41 ;  xiii.  30,  31  ;  and  othei-s. 

§  It  was  not  Christ  alone  whom  (as  we  are  told)  they  had  seen  :  if 
we  may  trust  the  record  "  the  graves  were  opened ;  and  many  bodies  ol 
the  samts  which  slept  arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves  after  his  res- 
urrection, and  appeared  unto  many." — Matthew  xxvii  52,  58. 

The  decayed  body  does  not  come  out  of  the  grave  ;  that  is  not  the 
mode  in  which  an  apparition  is  formed  :  but  that  was  the  popular  con- 
ception of  the  phenomenon  in  Matthew's  day.  How  often  are  genuine 
phenomena  iacorrectly  explained  I 


453 

"  From  the  epistles  of  Paul  and  the  Acts,  it  is  certain  that 
the  apostles  themselves  had  the  persuasion  that  they  had  seen 
the  Arisen.  .  .  .  For  the  rest,  the  passage  from  the  first 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  is  not  hereby  weakened  which,  un 
doubtedly  genuine,  was  wiitten  about  the  year  59  after  Christ, 
therefore  not  thirty  years  after  his  resurrection.  Upon  this  in- 
formation we  must  admit  that  many  members  of  the  first  com- 
munity, still  living  at  the  composition  of  that  epistle,  particu- 
larly the  apostles,  were  persuaded  that  they  had  witnessed  the 
appearance  of  the  risen  Clirist."  * 

The  text  to  which  Strauss  here  refers  is  St.  Paul's  assertion\ 
that  he  has  taught  what  he  himself  had  received,  namely,  that,  ' 
after  Christ  was  risen  "  he  was  seen  of  Cephas  [that  is,  Peter], 
tjien  of  the  twelve :  after  that,  he  was  seen  of  above  five  hundred' | 
brethren  at  once ;  of  whom  the  gi*eater  part  remain  until  this  * 
present,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep.  After  that,  he  was  seen  of 
James;  then  of  all  the  apostles."  f 

— Seen,  not  by  Peter  and  James  alone,  not  by  the  apostles  \ 
alone,  but  by  Jive  hundred  brethien  at  once.  And  the  belief  1 
of  these  men  in  the  reality  of  what  they  saw  was  such  that  they  j 
endured  bonds  and  scourgiags  and  persecutions  even  unto  death,  I 
imder  that  sustaining  faith.  The  record  of  all  this,  too,  was  I 
made  within  thirty  years  of  the  time  it  happened ;  and  is  ad-  / 
mitted,  by  a  critic  so  learned  and  critical  as  Strauss,  to  be  "  un-  I 
doubtedly  genuine." 

For  any  natural  event  such  testimony  would  be  overwhelm-  j 
hig.  Strauss,  having  made  up  his  mind  that  an  apparition  is  an 
impossibility,  disbelieves  the  story.  I,  having,  like  the  disci- 
ples, witnessed  an  apparition,  J  know,  as  they  did,  that  it  is  not 
impossible ;  and  believe  as  they  did,  that  Christ  showed  him- 
self to  them.  I  can  thoroughly  understand,  though  I  might 
not  have  imitated,  that  constancy  of  faith  which  braved  suf 
ferings  and  death. 

*  Lebm  Jesu^  pp.  629,  653. 
f  1  CorinfMans  rv.  5,  6,  7. 
X  See  Book  v.  chapter  3. 


454  STUDY  OF  APPARITIONS  IMPOETANT. 

If  the  religious  world  is  ever  to  attain  the  vantage  ground 
that  was  occupied  by  the  Christians  of  the  apostolic  age,  it 
must  convince  itself  that  an  apparition  is  a  natural  phenome- 
non, of  occasional  occurrence.  Till  then,  a  large  fraction  of 
the  intelligent  portion  of  society — its  scientific  leaders  espf 
cially — ^will  continue  to  deny,  like  Strauss — will  stand  out,  like 
Thomas,  saying :  "  I  must  see  before  I  believe." 

Therefore  the  question  "  Is  it  important  to  study  the  subject 
of  apparitions  ?  "  resolves  itself  into  another ;  "  Is  it  important 
to  have  assured  proof  of  immortal  life  ?  " 

I  make,  to  the  reader,  no  apology  for  the  space  I  occupy  ia 
illustratiQg  this  and  cognate  phenomena.  The  world  owes  to 
itself  an  apology  for  its  apathy  on  the  subject. 


CHAPTER  n. 

APPABITIONS   SHOTTINQ   THEMSELVES   SPONTANEOUSLY. 

*'  To  a  mind  not  influenced  by  populax  prejudice,  it  will  be  scarcely 
possible  to  believe  that  apparitions  would  have  been  vouched  for  in  all 
countries,  had  they  never  been  seen  in  any." — Rev.  George  Strahan, 
D.D.* 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  phases  of  scepticism  is  that  which 
denies,  what  all  ages  have  admitted,  the  occasional  reappear- 
ance of  what  we  call  the  dead.  The  fantastic  accessories  of 
current  ghost  stories — ^hideous  spectres,  naked  skeletons  clank- 
ing chains,  odors  of  brimstone,  lights  burning  blue — have  main- 
ly contributed  to  this  modem  Sadducism.  False  ideas  and 
morbid  feelings  touching  death  have  unsettled  our  judgment, 
even  our  perceptions.  Those  whom  we  loved  in  this  world  we 
have  learned  to  fear,  as  soon  as  they  passed  to  another.  We 
think,  with  terror,  of  their  reappearance ;  we  faint,  perhaps,  if 
they  suddenly  present  themselves :  for  terror  blinds ;  it  is  the 
parent  of  superstition. 

In  the  nursery,  or  by  the  home  fireside,  our  children  hear 
horrible  ghost-stories,  shuddering  as  they  listen.  This  is  spir- 
itual poison,  fatal  alike  to  equanimity  and  to  simple  religious 
truth.  If  we  speak  to  children  of  ghosts  at  all,  we  ought  to 
tell  them,  just  as  we  relate  any  natural  event,  that  we  shall  all 
be  ghosts  by  and  by ;  that  only  part  of  our  Kfe  is  spent  here ; 
the  rest  of  it  in  another  world  which  we  cannot  see,  but  which 
is  better  and  more  beautiful  than  this.  We  ought  to  add  that 
perhaps  we  shall  be  able  to  come  back  from  that  world  and 
show  ourselves  to  some  of  our  old  friends ;  and  that,  may  be, 

*  In  the  Preface  to  Ms  Prayers  and  Meditatwns  ofI>r.  Samud  Tohr^ 
touy  London,  1785. 


456  APPABITION  SEEN  BY  THE 

they  themselves  will  be  so  fortunate,  before  they  go,  as  to  see 
some  person  who  has  gone  before — or  what  people  call  a  ghost.  * 

Possibly  their  nerves  might  be  somewhat  tried,  in  case  this 
should  liappen ;  just  as  a  person,  hearing  thunder  for  the  first 
time,  often  trembles  at  the  sound.  But,  if  well-traiaed,  they 
would  soon  witness,  without  undue  excitement,  either  phenom- 
enon. Whenever  men,  in  the  mass,  attain  to  this  frame  ol 
mind,  apparitions  will  probably  become  more  common.  Spirits, 
reading  our  thoughts,  doubtless  often  refrain  from  showing 
themselves  when  they  perceive  that  they  will  only  be  objects  of 
terror. 

Short  of  space  and  having  already  treated  the  subject  of 
spontaneous  apparitions  at  considerable  length,  f  I  here  confine 
myself  to  a  single  example ;  a  narrative  which  I  am  able  to  for- 
tify with  name,  place,  and  date.  It  is  one  of  a  numerous  class, 
an  appearance  of  a  dear  friend  soon  after  death.  J 

A  Father,  dying  in  Europe,  appears  to  his  Son  in  America. 

In  the  year  1862,  Mr.  Bradhurst  Schieffelin,  of  the  well- 
known  firm  of  Schiefielin  &  Co.,  New  York,  kindly  furnished 
me  with  this  narrative,  sent  with  the  following  note : 

"  New  York,  June  11, 1862. 
"  Dear  Sir  :  Herewith  inclosed  I  have  the  pleasure  to  hand 

*  I  taught  my  children  after  that  fashion.  The  result,  even  in  early 
childhood,  was  some  such  expression  as  this  :  "  I  <^  wish  I  could  see  a 
ghost  :  could  not  you  show  us  one.  Papa  ?  " 

f  In  FootfaUs  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World,  Book  iv.  chapter  3. 
pp.  358-430. 

X  One  of  the  members  of  a  society  formed  in  1851  by  distinguished 
graduates  in  the  English  University  of  Cambridge,  for  the  purpose  of 
investigating  spiritual  phenomena,  told  me  that  their  researches  had 
resulted  iu  a  conviction,  shared,  he  believed,  by  all  the  members,  that 
there  is  sufficient  testimony  for  the  appearance,  about  the  time  of  death, 
or  after  it,  of  deceased  persons. — See  FootfaUn,  note,  pp.  33,  34 ;  and, 
for  the  printed  circular  of  the  society,  s^e  Appendix  to  that  work, 
Note  A ,  p.  513. 


KE\.    FREDERICK   STEINS.  457 

vovL  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Frederick  Steins,  relating  the  appari- 
tion of  his  father.  Mr.  Steins,  a  German  gentleman  of  the 
utmost  respectability,  is  pastor  of  the  Madison  Street  Presbyte" 
rian  Church  in  this  city,  having  a  large  German  congregra* 
tion, 

"  This  letter,  which  you  may  preserve  as  evidence,  I  have 
obtained  for  publication,  and  I  shall  be  glad  if  it  prove  of  ser 
vice  to  you. 

*'  Yours  truly, 

"  BradhijivST  Schiepfelin. 

"  To  the  Honorable 

Robert  Dale  Owen." 

The  inclosure  is  as  follows : 

**  New  Yobk,  June  10, 1862. 

*'  In  compliance  with  the  request  in  your  note,  I  here  give 
the  special  facts  connected  with  the  apparition  of  my  father. 

"  It  was  on  the  thirteenth  of  December,  1847,  as  I  was 
walking,  with  my  two  eldest  sons,  in  Grand  street,  New  York. 
Et  was  in  the  forenoon,  before  twelve  o'clock,  and  the  side- 
walk was  full  of  people.  There  the  whole  figure  of  my  father 
suddenly  appeared  to  me.  He  was  in  his  usual  dress,  his  well- 
remembered  cap  on  his  head,  his  pipe  in  his  hand,  and  he 
gazed  on  me  with  an  earnest  look ;  then,  as  suddenly,  disap- 
peared. 

"  I  was  very  much  terrified,  and  immediately  wrote  home,  re- 
lating what  had  happened.  Some  time  afterward  I  received 
a  letter  from  one  of  my  brothers,  written  from  Neukirchen, 
Rhenish  Prussia,  the  family  residence,  informing  me  that  on 
the  mormng  of  the  thirteenth  of  December,  our  father  had  died 
there.  At  breakfast  on  that  day  he  was  in  his  usual  health,  and 
had  been  speaking  of  me  with  great  anxiety.  After  breakfast 
he  j^assed  out  into  the  yard ;  and,  in  returning,  he  dropped 
dead,  overtaken  by  a  sudden  fit  of  apoplexy. 

"  I  learned  afterward  that,  at  the  moment  of  death,  he  wore 
20 


458  YEARNINGS  SOON  AFTER  DEATH. 

the  very  dress  in  which  I  had  seen  him ;  the  same  cap  on  hit 
head ;  his  pipe,  as  usual,  in  his  hand. 

«  Yours, 

"Fr.  Steins. 
"To  Bradhurst  Schieffelin,  Esq." 

The  anxious  interest  which  the  father  expressed  in  his  ab 
sent  son,  immediately  before  death,  is  a  noteworthy  incident 
in  this  case.* 

Narratives  of  cases  similar  to  the  above  could  be  multiplied 
indefinitely.  A  veiy  remarkable  one — a  family  reminiscence — 
furnished  to  me  by  my  friend,  William  Howitt,  will  be  found 
in  the  work  to  which  I  have  referred,  f 

*  Compare  with  this  a  similar  expression  of  affection  by  the  dying 
Mrs.  Marshall  toward  the  child  Cecilia ;  to  whom,  imonediately  aftei 
death,  she  appeared.     See  preceding  Book  it  chapter  1. 

t  FootfdOs,  p.  371. 


CHAPTER  in. 

ta    OWN  EXPERIENCE  TOUCHING  APPARITIONS. 

**  Segnins  irritant  amnios  demissa  -per  aurem, 
Quam  quae  sunt  oculis  subjecta  fidelibus." 

Horace— A.  P, 

I  HAVE  no  mediumistic  powers — none  of  the  spiritual  gifts 
snumerated  by  Paul  and  considered  by  liim  as  desirable.  I 
can  see  nothing,  hear  nothing,  except  what  others,  with  quick 
eyes  and  ears,  can  see  and  hear.  As  to  the  reality  of  subjec- 
tive apparitions  I  have  to  trust  to  the  testimony  of  the  seer  or 
Beeress ;  fortified,  sometimes,  by  information  touching  worldly 
affairs  that  has  been  furnished  by  these  invisible  forms,  and 
afterward  ascertained  to  be  true.*  Perhaps,  at  this  stage  of 
spiritual  progress,  I  am,  because  myself  an  outsider,  move 
likely  to  gain  the  ear,  and  the  confidence,  of  the  outside  world. 

If,  some  day,  there  should  appear  a  man,  endowed  alike 
with  the  highest  spiritual  gifts  and  with  the  most  eminent 
moral  and  intellectual  powers,  his  influence  on  civilized  society 
might  be  immense.  Meanwhile  a  mere  spectator  may  obtain  a 
degree  of  credit  for  dispassionate  judgment  which  would  be  re- 
fused to  an  actor. 

I  regret,  however,  that  it  has  never  been  my  good  fortune 
to  witness  an  objective  apparition,  spontaneously  presenting 
itself.  I  had  to  seek  before  I  found.  But  if  my  readers  will 
follow  me  in  the  relation  of  what  I  did  find,  I  think  they  will 
admit  that  I  have  taken  what  reasonable  precautions  I  could, 
alike  against  self-delusion  and  imposture.  That  I  was  in 
search  of  what  I  found  is,  in  itself,  no  proper  bar  to  my  testi- 

*  A  remarkable  example  will  be  found  in  Footfalls,  Book  iv.  cliaptti 
3 ;  story  of  the  Old  Kent  Manor  Bouse,  pp.  414-427. 


4:60  A  MEMORABLE   EXPERIENCE. 

monj.  If  I  were  about  to  make  a  study  of  earthquakes  and 
volcanic  phenomena,  I  should  be  likely  to  visit  the  westera 
coast  of  South  America,  the  southern  portion  of  the  Italian 
peninsula ;  perhaps  the  islands  of  Sumatra,  Java,  Iceland.  It 
is  no  disparagement  to  results  that  they  have  been  obtained 
by  expressly  placing  one's  self  in  the  way  of  obtaining  them. 
My  experience  in  this  field,  though  not  so  varied  as  that  of 
some  others,  has  been  a  remarkable  one.  If  my  life  were  ex- 
tended to  the  term  ascribed  to  the  antediluvian  patriarchs,  I 
should  remember,  to  my  dying  day,  the  first  time  I  was  visited 
by  an  appearance  which  all  the  attendant  circumstances  con- 
curred in  proving  to  have  been  a  visitor  from  another  phase  of 
being.  It  occurred,  eleven  years  ago,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Dan- 
iel Underbill,  in  New  York. 

An  eventful  Hour  with  Leah  Fox. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  Sunday,  the  twenty-first  of  October, 
1860.  The  sitting  was  held  in  Mr.  Underbill's  dining-room, 
lasting  from  ten  till  eleven  o'clock  p.m. 

The  room  was  lighted  by  gas.  There  were  two  windows 
fronting  the  street;  three  doors;  one  opening  on  a  corridor 
whence  a  staircase  ascended  to  the  next  floor  ;  another  opening 
on  a  short  passage  leading  to  the  kitchen ;  the  third,  the  door 
of  a  pantry  in  which  were  crockery  and  various  other  articles, 
including  a  barrel  of  loaf-sugar  in  one  comer. 

Before  we  had  any  demonstrations  the  raps  requested  us  to 
wait  until  the  domestics  had  retired.  There  were  two  servant 
girls  in  the  kitchen,  whom  Mrs.  Underbill  sent  upstairs  to 
bed,  so  that  everything  was  profoundly  still  on  that  floor  of  the 
house.  Then  we  fastened  the  inside  blinds  of  both  windows, 
so  as  to  exclude  all  light  from  the  street. 

Before  commencing  the  session,  at  Mr.  Underbill's  request, 
I  shut  and  locked  the  three  doors  above  referred  to,  leaving  the 
keys  in  the  doors  ;  so  that  no  one,  even  if  furnished  with  keys, 
could  open  them  from  without.     I  satisfied  myself,  by  carefuJ 


A  PHOSPHOEESCENT   PHENOMENON.  461 

personal  inspection  of  the  furniture,  and  otherwise,  that  there 
was  no  one  in  the  pantry,  nor  any  one  in.  the  dining-room  except 
the  three  persons  who,  along  with  myself,  assisted  at  the  sitting. 

These  persons  were  Mr.  Daniel  UnderhiD,  Mrs.  Underhill 
(Leali  Fox),  and  her  nephew,  Charles,  twelve  years  old.  We 
sat  down  to  a  centre-table,  three  feet  eleven  inches  in.  diameter, 
of  black  walnut,  and  without  table-cover.  (I  had  previously 
looked  under  it ;  nothing  to  be  seen  there.)  The  gas-burner 
was  immediately  over  it.  I  sat  on  the  east  side  of  the  table, 
Mr.  Underhill  opposite  to  me,  Mrs.  Underhill  on  my  left  hand, 
and  Charles  on  the  right.     There  was  no  fire  in  the  room. 

The  i-appings  commenced,  gradually  increasing  in  niimber 
and  force.  »After  a  short  interval  they  spelled  :  "  Put  out  the 
gas."  It  was  accordingly  extinguished  and  the  room  remained 
in  total  darkness.  Then,  "  Join  hands."  Shortly  after  doing 
so  I  felt,  several  times,  a  cool  breeze  blowing  on  my  cheek.  * 
Tlien  was  spelled  :  "  Do  not  break  the  circle."  We  obeyed ;  and, 
except  for  a  second  or  two  at  a  time,  it  remained,  on  my  part, 
unbroken  throughout  the  rest  of  the  sitting. 

After  a  few  minutes  I  perceived  a  light,  apparently  of  a 
phosphorescent  character,  on  my  left,  near  the  floor.  It  was, 
at  first,  of  a  rectangular  form,  with  the  edges  rounded.  1 
judged  it  to  be  about  four  inches  long  and  two  and  a  hali 
inches  wide.  It  seemed  like  an  open  palm  illuminated ;  but 
though  the  light  which  emanated  from  it  showed  quite  dis- 
tinctly its  entire  surface,  I  could  distinguish  no  fingers.  For 
a  time  it  moved  about,  near  the  floor ;  then  it  rose  into  the  air 
and  floated  about  the  room,  sometimes  over  our  heads. 


*  See  an  article  entitled  The  GJvMs  Bones  Found  ;  "  Footfalls,"  Book 
iv.  chapter  3.  It  relates  to  the  Seeress  of  Prevorst.  After  stating 
that  her  mother  and  sister  did  not  see  an  apparition  which  showed 
itself  to  her,  it  is  added  :  "  But  both,  at  the  times  when  the  spirit  ap- 
peared to  the  seeress,  frequently  felt  the  sensation  as  of  a  breeze  blow 
ing  upon  them  :  "  p.  399. 

Such  a  sensation,  as  I  know  from  personal  experience,  frequently 
precedes,  or  accompanies,  spiritual  phenomena. 


462  AN  APPABinON 

After  a  time  it  changed  its  appearance  and  increased  in 
brightness.  It  then  resembled  an  opaque  oval  substance,  about 
the  size  of  a  child's  head,  muffled  up  in  the  folds  of  some  very 
white  and  shining  material,  like  fine  linen,  only  brighter.  Aa 
it  moved  about,  I  began  to  hear,  at  first  imperfectly,  afterward 
somewhat  more  distinctly,  the  rustling  as  of  a  silk  dress,  or  of 
other  light  article  of  female  apparel;  giving  the  impression 
that  one  or  more  persons  were  moving  silently  about  the  room. 
Then  the  light  passed  behind  Mrs.  Underbill ;  then  I  saw  it 
close  to  Mr.  Underbill  and  just  opposite  to  me.  Mr.  Under- 
bill said :  "  Can  you  not  go  to  Mr.  Owen ;  do  try."  There- 
upon it  moved  slowly  around  to  my  left  side.  This  time  the 
folds  appeared  to  have  dropped  ;  and  what  seemed  a  face  (still 
covered,  hov/ever,  with  a  luminous  veil,)  came  bending  down 
witliin  five  or  six  inches  of  my  own  face,  as  I  turned  toward  it. 
As  it  approached,  I  plainly  distinguished  the  semi-luminous 
outline  of  an  entire  figure  of  the  usual  female  stature.  I  saw, 
very  distinctly,  the  arms  moving.  At  the  lower  extremity  ot 
its  right  arm,  as  if  on  the  palm  of  the  hand,  the  figure  bore 
what  seemed  a  rectangular  substance,  about  four  inches  by  two, 
as  nearly  as  I  could  estimate.  This  substance  was  more 
brightly  illuminated  than  the  rest  of  the  figure.  It  may  have 
been  only  the  illuminated  palm,  but  I  do  not  think  it  was ;  it 
seemed  more  like  a  transparent  box  with  phosphorescent  light 
within  it.  Whatever  it  was,  the  figure  raised  it  above  its 
head  and  then  passed  it  slowly  down  close  to  what  seemed  the 
face  and  then  over  the  upper  part  of  the  body,  as  one  might 
pass  a  lantern  over  any  object,  with  intent  to  make  it  visible. 
This  action  it  repeated  several  times.  By  aid  of  the  illumina- 
tion thus  afibrded  I  saw,  more  distinctly  than  before,  the  gen- 
eral form  of  the  face  and  figure ;  but  both  appeared  covered 
with  a  half-transparent  veil,  and  I  could  distinguish  no  fea- 
tures :  nor  were  the  outlines  of  the  body,  nor  of  the  limbs, 
sharply  defined.  The  motion  of  the  right  arm,  with  the  light, 
was  the  most  marked  and  frequent. 

While  this  was  taking  place  I  held  Mrs.  Underbill's  hand 


SEEN,  FELT,   Am)   HEASD.  463 

and  Charles's.  As  the  various  phases  of  the  phenomena  sue 
ceeded  each  other,  I  remarked  on  what  I  saw ;  and  Mr.  Under- 
hill,  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  responded  to  my 
remarks ;  so  that  I  am  quite  certain  he  was  seated  there. 

I  expressed  a  wish  that  the  figure  would  touch  me  :  and  Mr. 
Underhill  said,  from  his  place :  "  We  are  very  anxious  that  the 
spirit  should  touch  Mr.  Owen,  if  it  can." 

Thereupon  I  felt  what  seemed  a  human  hand  laid  on  my 
head.  And,  as  I  looked  steadily  at  the  figure,  which  stood  on 
my  left  side,  I  saw  its  head  bend  toward  my  left  shoulder.  A 
moment  afterward  I  felt,  and  simultaneously  heard,  just  be- 
hind the  point  of  that  shoulder,  a  kiss  imprinted. 

I  could  not,  for  any  physical  fact,  obtain  the  evidence  of 
three  senses — sight,  touch,  and  hearing — more  distinctly  than 
in  this  case  I  did. 

Immediately  afterward,  I  saw  this  luminous  body  pass  be- 
hind me ;  what  seemed,  by  the  touch,  to  bo  hands  gently  laid 
hold  of  both  my  shoulders  and  turned  me  round  to  the  right. 
I  looked  on  that  side  and  the  figure  now  stood  by  my  right 
shoulder. 

After  pausing  there  for  a  few  seconds,  it  moved  toward  the 
window  farthest  from  me,  and  we  heard  the  sounds  as  if  some 
one  were  attempting  to  open  the  window  blind.  Mr.  Under- 
hill, from  his  place,  remarked  that  it  would  probably  be  able  to 
effect  this ;  for  it  had  done  so  on  a  previous  occasion.  The 
blind  was  in  four  compartments,  each  of  which  could  be 
opened  or  closed  by  raising  or  lowering  a  wire  attached  to 
movable  slats.  The  figure  opened  the  upper,  left-hand  quarter 
of  the  blind,  so  that  a  faint  light  shone  in  from  the  street 
lamps.     I  was  looking  at  the  window  when  this  occurred. 

Up  to  this  time  the  appearance,  gradually  becoming  more 
luminous,  had  been  in  sight,  moving  about  the  room,  fully  five 
minutes.  There  was  not  the  slightest  footfall  when  it  moved. 
My  hearing  is  very  acute ;  I  listened  for  every  sound ;  and  as, 
in  the  intervals  of  conversation,  the  silence  was  unbroken,  1 
could  have  detected  the  fall  of  the  lightest  footstep. 


4:G4  HEAEING  AND  FEELING 

From  this  time  the  light  which  illuminated  the  figure  grada 
ally  faded ;  and  soon  I  could  no  longer  distinguish  any  form* 
The  slight,  rustling  sound,  unaccompanied  by  footsteps,  still, 
however,  continued. 

Suddenly  we  heard  a  noise  as  of  the  door  opposite  to  me 
being  unlocked ;  then  of  its  being  hastily  opened  and  shut ; 
then  the  rustling  sound  approached  me  on  the  left,  and  a  key 
was  laid  on  my  left  hand.  Then  a  second  door  was  heard  to 
be  unlocked  in  the  same  way,  and  I  heard  another  key  laid  on 
the  table  just  before  me.  Then  a  third  door  (that  of  the  cup- 
board, by  the  sound,)  was  heard  to  be  unlocked  and  opened, 
and  a  key,  as  if  pitched  over  our  heads,  was  heard  to  drop,  with 
a  clatter,  on  the  table. 

While  this  was  going  on,  I  commented,  from  time  to  time, 
on  each  occurrence,  and  received  answers  from  Mr.  Underbill, 
from  his  place  at  the  table  opposite  to  me. 

While  we  were  conversing,  there  was  a  rattling  of  the  crock- 
ery in  the  cupboard.  Mrs.  Underhill  expressed  her  apprehen- 
sions as  to  some  favorite  china,  but  Mr.  Underhill  replied  :  "  I 
will  trust  the  spirits ;  "  and  then  added :  *'  Cannot  the  spirit 
bring  something  to  Mr.  Owen  ?  "  Almost  immediately  there 
was  set  down  on  the  table,  close  to  my  left  hand,  some  object 
which  I  touched,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  cut-glass  goblet.  In 
setting  it  doAvn,  what  seemed  a  human  hand  touched  mine,  and 
immediately  afterward  was  laid,  several  times,  on  my  shoulder. 
I  expressed  a  desire  that  it  would  distinctly  grasp  my  hand,  to 
which  Mr.  Underhill  responded.  Instantly  a  small  hand,  or 
what  in  touch  perfectly  resembled  one,  took  hold  of  my  hand 
and  grasped  it.  Then  it  clasped  my  bare  wrist,  gently  but  with 
a  firm  grasp ;  then  my  lower  arm,  then  my  upper  arm  ;  each 
time  with  a  distinct  grasp.  I  could  not  have  distinguished 
the  touch  from  that  of  a  human  hand.  It  was  a  little  cooler 
than  mine,  but  not  disagreeably  so.  There  was  nothing  chilly 
or  clammy  or  otherwise  unpleasant  about  it.  There  was,  after 
this,  throughout  the  sitting,  no  sound  whatever  of  opening  ot 
dosing  doors. 


iLN   ALLEGED   SPIRIT-FOBM.  465 

Whil(  it  was  touching  me  thus,  Mr.  XJnderhill  said :  "  Can 
you  fill  the  goblet  you  brought  to  Mr.  Owen  with  water?' 
TJtere  was  a  rustling  but  no  footstep ;  a  sKght  noise  in  th« 
pantry,  and  then  the  sound  of  something  dropped  iato  the  gob- 
let ;  but,  putting  my  hand  in,  I  felt  no  water.  In  so  doing  I 
broke  the  cu*cle  only  for  a  moment. 

Then,  just  behind  me,  I  heard  a  sound  as  if  the  glass  of  the 
clock  on  the  mantle-piece  were  touched  and  shaken. 

All  this  time  there  was  no  word  spoken  except  by  those  at 
the  table ;  but,  once  or  twice,  there  was  a  whistling  sound  in 
the  air. 

When,  soon  after,  we  were  bidden,  by  the  raps,  to  relight  the 
gas,  I  found  three  door-keys  on  the  table,  the  goblet  also  and, 
within  it,  a  lump  of  loaf-sugar.  Both  the  room-doors  were 
closed,  but,  on  trying  them,  I  found  that  neither  was  locked. 
Two  of  the  keys  on  the  table  fitted  them.  The  door  of  tlie 
pantry,  which  the  third  key  fitted,  stood  open,  and  the  cover  of 
the  barrel  of  sugar  was  pushed  partly  off.  The  left-hand  upper 
portion  of  the  blind  at  which  we  had  seen  and  heard  the  figure, 
was  open. 

These  are  facts,  all  briefly  noted  down  the  same  evening  on 
which  they  happened,  and  written  out  in  full  the  next  morn- 
ing. 

The  allegations,  by  the  raps,  were  that  the  spirit  present  was 
that  of  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Fox  who  had  died  young,  and  that 
other  spirits  were  present  (among  them  an  Indian  spirit),  aid- 
ing her  to  show  herself  to  our  circle.  Emily — that  was  the 
girl's  name — had  been  Mrs.  Underhill's  favorite  sister,  long 
mourned  over,  and  had  lain,  during  the  last  hour  of  her  life 
and  at  the  moment  of  death,  in  Mrs.  Underhill's  arms.  Mr. 
UnJerhill  stated  to  me  that  he  had  seen  the  same  spirit,  as 
distinctly,  several  times  before ;  and  that  he  had  been  able  to 
distinguish  the  features.  He  appeared,  also,  on  this  occasion, 
to  have  perceived  the  whole  figure,  and  especially  the  features, 
more  distinctly  than  I  did,  though  my  natural  sight  has  always 
been  keen,  and,  except  within  ordinary  reading  distance,  is  siilS 
30 


406  EEMAEKS   ON  WHAT  I 

nearly  as  strong  as  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  "With  these  ex. 
ceptions,  all  present,  so  far  as  I  could  judge  by  comparing  notes 
with  them  during  and  after  the  sittiag,  seemed  to  have  seen 
and  heard  the  succession  of  phenomena  here  described  just  as  I 
myself  had  done. 

Up  to  this  time,  never  having  witnessed  any  such  phe- 
nomena  as  these,  I  had  often  doubted  within  myself  how  I 
should  be  affected  by  witnessing  an  apparition,  or  what  I  had 
reason  to  consider  such.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  should  expe- 
rience no  alarm ;  but  of  this,  in  advance  of  actual  experience, 
I  could  not  be  assured.  Now  I  know  just  how  far  I  can  trust 
my  self-possession.  Awe  I  undoubtedly  felt — awe  and  intense 
interest ;  but,  in  looking  back  on  my  feelings  throughout  that 
wonder-bringing  hour,  I  feel  certain  that  a  physician  might 
have  placed  his  finger  on  my  wrist,  even  at  the  moment  when 
that  dimly-illuminated  Presence  first  bent  over  me,  with 
scarcely  six  inches  intervening  between  its  veiled  face  and 
mine — its  hands  placed  on  my  head,  its  lips  touching  my 
shoulder — and  not  have  found  the  beatings  of  my  pulse  unduly 
accelerated :  or  if  he  had  detected  acceleration,  it  could  not, 
I  am  very  sure,  have  been  justly  ascribed  to  any  tremor  or 
fear,  but  solely  to  the  natural  effect  of  solemn  and  riveted  ex- 
pectation. If  a  man,  under  such  circumstances,  may  trust  to 
his  own  recollections  not  twenty-four  hours  old,  I  can  aver,  on 
my  honor,  that  I  was  not,  at  any  time  while  these  events  were 
in  progress,  under  other  excitement  (though  it  may  be,  greater 
in  degree)  than  a  chemist  might  be  supposed  to  experience 
while  watching  the  issue  of  a  long-projected  and  decisive  exper- 
iment, or  an  astronomer  when  the  culminating  point  of  some 
important  observation  is  about  to  be  reached. 

I  beg  it  may  not  be  supposed  that  I  mention  this  as  boasting 
of  courage.  There  was,  in  truth,  nothing  of  which  to  boast. 
The  preceding  and  attendant  circumstances  were  such  as  to  pre- 
clude alarm.  I  was  not  alone,  nor  taken  by  surprise.  I  waa 
expectiu.^  som3  phenomena  and  hoping  that  they  wou^d  be  of  a 


SAW,   FELT,    AND   HEAED.  467 

phosphorescent  nature.  And  though  I  had  not  any  expecta- 
tion of  seeing  an  actual  form,  yet,  as  the  allegation  was  that  a 
deceased  sister,  beloved  by  one  of  the  assistants,  was  present^ 
and  as  all  the  demonstrations  were  gentle  and  seemingly  ar- 
ranged, by  friendly  agencies,  to  satisfy  my  desire  for  the 
strongest  evidence  in  proof  of  spiritual  appearance,  J  waa 
under  very  different  circumstances  to  those  which  have  often 
shaken  the  nerves  even  of  the  boldest,  while  encountering,  for 
the  first  time,  what  is  usually  called  a  ghost. 

I  state  the  fact  of  my  equanimity,  then,  merely  as  one  of  the 
attendant  circumstances  which  may  be  fairly  taken  into  account 
in  judging  the  testimony  here  supplied  in  proof  of  the  appear 
ance,  in  visible  and  tangible  form,  of  an  alleged  spirit  of  a  de- 
ceased person.  It  is  often  assumed  that  a  man  who  believes 
he  sees  an  apparition  is  (to  use  a  common  phrase)  frightened 
out  of  his  senses ;  and  so,  is  not  entitled  to  credit  as  witness. 

If  it  be  objected  that,  before  the  sitting  closed,  the  doors 
were  unlocked,  I  reply  first  that  aU  the  most  remarkable  and 
interesting  portion  of  the  phenomena  occurred  before  this  hap- 
pened; and,  secondly,  that,  as  the  keys  of  the  lockr-d  doors 
were  left  in  them,  they  could  only  be  opened  from  the  inside. 
If,  in  reply  to  this  last,  it  be  still  urged  that  Mr.  Underhill, 
deserting  his  post  for  a  few  seconds,  might  have  opened  one  of 
the  dooi-s,  I  reply  that  I  happened  to  be  conversing  with  him 
at  the  moment  we  first  heard  the  key  turned.  I  add  that  dur- 
ing the  next  sitting,  when  still  more  wonderful  phenomena  oc- 
ciirred,  I  took  a  precaution  (as  will  be  seen),  which  made  it 
impossible  that  either  Mr.  Underhill  or  any  of  the  assistants 
should  leave  their  seats,  even  for  a  moment,  without  my  knowl- 
edge. 

Five  days  after  this  I  had  the  session  here  referred  to,  in  the 
same  room,  with  the  same  assistants ;  during  which  similar 
phenomena  were  repeated,  but  with  one  highly  noteworthy  ad- 
dition. 


468  THBEE   WORDS  DI8TIN0TLY 

A  Ghost  Speaks. 

The  (late  was  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  1860 ;  and  it  waa 
an  evening  session ;  from  half-past  ten  till  midnight.  The 
same  precautions  which  I  had  taken  before  the  commencement 
of  the  former  sitting  as  to  locking  all  the  doors,  looking  under 
the  table,  examining  the  room  and  furniture,  etc.,  I  carefully 
adopted  on  this  occasion  also.  As  before,  we  waited  until  the 
sorvants  had  retired  and  all  was  still. 

After  a  time  there  was  spelled  "  Darken ;  "  then  "  Join 
hands."  We  obeyed;  but  on  this  occasion  I  took  an  additional 
precaution.  Grasping  Mrs.  Underhill's  right  hand  and  Charles' 
left,  I  brought  my  own  hands  to  the  centre  of  the  table  ;  and 
Mr.  Underbill,  across  the  table,  laid  his  hands  on  mine.  This 
we  continued  throughout  the  entire  sitting.  I  am  able,  there- 
fore, to  assert  that,  from  the  beginning  of  this  sitting  till  the 
end,  the  circle  remained  unbroken. 

After  a  few  minutes,  there  appeared  a  luminous  body  of  an 
irregularly  circular  form,  about  four  inches  in  diameter,  float- 
ing between  us  and  the  door  which  was  back  of  Mrs.  Underhill. 
It  was  somewhat  brighter  than  when  it  first  appeared  on  the 
previous  occasion  ;  that  is,  on  the  twenty-first  of  October. 

Then,  after  an  interval,  the  light,  rustling  sound  seemed  to 
indicate  the  approach  of  some  one.  The  figure  was  not  so  dis- 
tinct as  on  the  previous  occasion,  the  lower  portion  losing  itself 
in  a  grayish  cloud.  The  highest  light  seemed  to  be  on  the  spot 
corresponding  to  the  foreliead.  But  I  saw  no  features ;  nor  did 
I  see  the  arms  moving.  Very  soon  I  was  gently  touched  on 
the  head,  then  on  the  shoulders,  then  laid  hold  of,  as  with  both 
hands  of  some  one  standing  behind  me. 

Then  the  figure  seemed,  by  the  sound,  to  move  away,  toward 
Mr.  Underhill.  He  stated  that  the  figure  was  approacJiing 
him.  He  asked  it  if,  as  a  test,  it  could  take  something  oub  of 
his  pocket ;  but  there  was  no  reply,  by  raps  or  otherwise.  Im* 
mediately  I  heard  a  sound  as  if  some  one  were  moving  the  ke^ 
about  in  the  door  opposite  to  me. 


SPOKEN   BY  AN   APPABITION.'  469 

Soon  after  Mr.  Underhill  said  the  figure  had  again  approached 
him.  I  saw  the  illuminated  circular  substance  close  to  hi* 
head,  but  could  not  distinguish  any  figure.  Mr.  Underhill 
said  that  he  could  dimly  discern  the  figure. 

After  a  time  it  moved  round  to  the  lad  Charles,  who  exhib 
ited  much  alarm ;  crying  out  "  Oh,  go  away  !  Pray  don't  !  " 
when  it  approached,  as  I  saw  it  do,  close  to  his  head,  which  hf» 
had  bent  down  on  the  table.  It  was  now  very  bright,  so  that, 
by  the  light,  I  could  see  the  outline  of  the  boy's  head.  Charles 
afterward  stated  that  he  saw  it  distiuctly,  and  that  a  hand 
touched  him  repeatedly.  While  it  was  close  to  Charles,  it  ap- 
peared to  me  as  if  a  whit-e  handkerchief  or  some  article  of  the 
like  texture  were  thrown  over  a  hand  or  some  similar  support. 
r  saw  no  figure.  When  it  rose  behind  Charles,  as  if  to  leave 
him  when  he  cried  out,  I  could  perceive  what  resembled  a  hand 
grasping  some  illuminated  substance,  the  outline  of  the  hand 
appearing  as  a  shadow  across  the  illuminated  ground. 

Then  it  moved,  as  I  could  see,  to  Mr.  Underhill,  and  after  a 
time  crossed  over  to  me,  and  touched  me  gently  on  the  shoul- 
der. Of  a  sudden  it  occurred  to  me  that  one  other  evidence 
was  lacking.  I  expressed  a  desire  that,  if  it  could,  it  would 
speak.  It  seemed  to  make  several  efforts  to  do  so,  as  indicated 
by  a  slight,  guttural  sound ;  then  I  heard  a  sound  resembling 
the  syllable  es,  twice  repeated. 

Then,  by  the  raps  was  spelled  out :  "  Sing."  Mrs.  Under- 
bill complied.  The  figure  which  had  seemed  to  move  away  and 
return,  again  touched  me  from  behind,  drawing  me  slightly 
toward  it.  Then,  in  a  brief  interval  of  the  singing,  I  heard, 
in  a  low  voice,  just  behind  me,  the  words:  "God  bless  you." 
A.S  additional  assurance  that  it  was  no  momentary  illusion,  I 
asked  that  it  would  speak  again ;  and  again,  in  an  interval  of 
the  music,  I  heard,  in  distinct  tones,  the  same  words,  "  God 
bless  you."  The}'  seemed  to  be  pronounced  close  to  my  ear. 
The  voice  was  low — apparently  a  woman's  voice — -just  louder 
than  a  whisper,  and  the  words  seemed  to  be  j^ronounced  with 
an  effort ;  in  subdued  tones,  as  a  person  faint  from  sicl 


470  THE  MANIFESTATIONS  ARE 

might  speak.  I  particularly  noticed,  also,  that  each  word  wai 
pronounced  separately,  with  a  perceptible  interval  between ; 
and  there  was  not  the  usual  accent  on  bless ,  followed  by  the 
shoi-tened  you  /  but  each  word  was  equally  accented.  In  other 
respects  the  sounds  resembled  the  human  voice,  when  low  and 
gentle. 

Mrs.  TJnderhill  afterward  stated  to  me  that  she  distinguished 
the  word  you,  but  not  the  others.  Mr.  Underbill  said  he  had 
heard  articulate  sounds,  but  could  not  make  out  any  of  the 
words :  he  only  knew  that  something  had  been  said  to  me. 

After  a  time  I  saw  the  figure  pass  behind  Mrs.  TJnderhill 
and  remain,  for  a  few  minutes,  near  her  husband ;  then  it  re- 
turned to  me,  appearing  on  my  left  side.  I  saw  the  outline  of 
a  head  and  face,  but  still,  as  before,  covered  with  a  veil  which 
concealed  the  features.  I  perceived,  however,  what  I  had  not 
observed  before,  what  seemed  tresses  of  dark  hair  dropping 
over  the  face ;  and  the  dim  outline  of  an  arm  raised  one  of 
these  tresses,  and  then  dropped  it  again,  several  times,  as  if  to 
attract  my  attention.  Behind  was  the  vague  outline  of  a  fig- 
ure, but  less  distinct  than  during  the  previous  sitting. 

Then  the  figure  passed  behind  me.  I  was  leaning  over  the 
table,  so  that  Mr.  Underhill  might  not  have  so  far  to  stretch, 
in  order  to  reach  my  hands.  I  felt  a  kiss  on  my  shoulder, 
then  there  was  the  feeling  of  two  hands  laid  each  on  one 
shoulder  and  I  was  drawn  very  gently  back  till  my  shoulders, 
above  the  chair  back,  were  pressed  against  what  seemed  a  ma- 
terial form.     AliQost  at  the  same  moment  my  hand  was  kissed. 

Mr.  Underhill  cried  out,  "  Ah,  you  were  drawn  back ; "  and 
Mrs.  Underhill  said,  a  little  impatiently :  "  Every  one  ia 
touched  but  me.     Can't  you  come  to  me  ?  " 

The  words  were  hardly  pronounced  when  she  screamed  out, 
as  in  alarm :  she  had  been  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  kissed 
i>i\  the  forehead. 

From  that  very  moment  the  manifestations  entirely  ceased. 
No  luminous  object  to  be  seen,  not  another  touch,  not  a  rustle, 
not  a  sound  of  any  kind,  in  the  room.     I  listened  attentively^ 


SUDDENLY  INTEfiRTJPTED.  47J 

and  am  certain  that  no  door  opened  or  shut.  Ajid  scarcely  a 
minute  or  two  elapsed  ere  it  was  spelled  out :  "  Light  the  gas.'- 

When  we  had  done  so  we  found  everything  as  before,  with 
a  single  exception.  I  ascertained  by  looking  under  the  table 
and  in  the  pantry  that  there  was  no  one  in  the  room  but  our- 
selves :  I  found  all  the  three  doors  locked  ;  but  the  key  be- 
longing to  the  door  opposite  to  me  was  missing.  We  asked 
where  it  was;  the  raps  replied:  "Look."  We  could  not  see 
it  anywhere.  Then  we  examined  our  pockets ;  and,  from  one 
of  his  coat-pockets,  Mr.  UnderhUl  produced  a  key,  which  was 
found  to  fit  the  door. 

Mrs.  Underbill  asked  if  her  alarmed  exclamation  had  injured 
the  spirit  ? 

Ariswer,  by  the  raps — "  Not  much." 

Mrs.  XT. — "  I'm  so  wMch  afraid  I  hurt  her !  " 

Answer. — "  It  frightened  her." 

Question  (by  me). — "Did  Mrs.  Ifnderhill's  cry  of  alarm 
cause  the  manifestations  to  cease  ?  " 

Answer. — "  Yes." 

As  to  the  door-key,  I  remark — 

That  Mr.  Underbill  asked,  as  a  test,  to  have  something  taken 
from  his  pocket ;  but  it  was  a  better  test,  since  he  could  not 
move  from  his  place,  to  take  the  key  from  the  door  and  depos- 
ite  it  in  his  pocket.  Who  hut  a  spirit  could  take  it,  our  circle 
remaining  unbroken  ?  Is  the  taking  by  spirit  agency  incredi- 
ble 'i  Bat  the  hands  that  pressed  my  shoulders,  that  grasped 
my  hand,  that  clasped  my  wrist,  were  surely  material  enough 
to  extract  a  key  from  a  door-lock  and  drop  it  in  a  coat-pocket. 

Then  all  the  doors,  this  time,  were  left  locked ;  so  that  no 
one  could  enter  from  without :  to  say  nothing  of  the  absurd 
supposition  that  a  spirit  should  open  a  door  in  order  to  admit 
human  assistants. 

Though  I  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  my  success  I 
i-esolved  to  prosecute  these  researches,  hoping  for  an  apparition 
>y  gas-light  or  daylight.     But  I  was  unable  at  that  time  to  do 


/ 


472  BPIBITUAL   SCULPTTJEE. 

80.  My  duties  as  military  agent  of  the  State  of  Indiana  called 
me  from  New  York ;  and,  in  the  rush  of  events  during  these 
stirring  times,  my  time  and  thoiights  were  otherwise  engrossed. 
In  the  spring  of  1862  Judge  Holt  and  myself  were  appointed 
a  Government  Commission  on  Ordnance  and  Ordnance  stores,* 
requiring  a  residence  in  Washington ;  and  a  year  later  I  be- 
came chairman  of  another  Government  Commission,  charged 
with  the  duty  of  reporting  on  the  condition  of  the  recently 
emancipated  freedmen  of  the  United  States.  Thus  it  was  not 
till  the  close  of  the  war  that  I  could  sufficiently  withdraw  my 
attention  from  public  duties  to  follow  out,  in  any  regular  or 
consecutive  manner,  spiritual  studies.  Perhaps  this  mingling 
of  mundane  work  and  ultramundane  contemplations  is  oi 
wholesome  character;  tending  to  infuse  broader  views  and  a 
more  practical  tone  into  speculative  researches. 

My  experience  of  1860  led  me  to  the  opinion  that  an  objec- 
tive apparition  must  be  the  workmanship,  of  spirits,  possible 
under  rare  circumstances.  Sometimes  these  appear  to  be 
wholly  independent  of  human  agency  or  intention ;  sometimes 
we  can,  in  a  measure,  promote  them,  and  even  anticipate,  with 
more  or  less  uncertainty,  however,  the  result.  In  this  latter 
case,  we  seem  to  obtain  something  corresponding,  in  a  measure, 
to  a  production  of  human  art ;  and,  specifically,  of  the  art  oi 
sculpture ;  but  of  sculpture  in  spiritual  phase ;  evanescent, 
ouly  partially  material,  and  liable,  at  any  moment,  to  dissolve 
or  disappear. 

What  I  particularly  desired  was  to  have  an  opportunity,  in 
the  light,  of  witnessing  the  formation  of  such  an  apparition ; 

*  Judge  Holt  was  a  member  of  President  Buchanan's  Cabinet  and 
afterwaxd  Judge  Advocate  GeneraL  We  reported  on  accounts  amount- 
ing to  more  than  forty-nine  millions  of  dollars,  reducing  the  liabilitiea 
of  the  G-eneral  Government,  by  our  decisions,  nearly  seventeen  mil- 
Lions :  and  our  report  was  sustained. 

Some  men  imagine  that  profound  convictions  touching  Spiritualism 
and  Spiritual  phenomena  incapacitate  for  business  duties ;  but  that  i» 
a  mistake. 


IN  BOSTON.  473 

its  actions,  its  movements  from  place  to  place,  and  its  disap- 
pearance. But  it  was  not  until  the  year  1867  that  I  obtainei 
any  further   satisfaction.     During  the  spring  of  that  year  1 

heard  of  Miss  B ,  of  Boston,  an  elderly  lady  long  known 

and  esteemed  in  that  city  as  a  successful  teacher  of  music  and 
dancing.  It  was  said  that  she,  in  a  private  circle,  had  obtained 
numerous  objective  apparitions,  in  a  partially  lighted  room. 
This  was  afterward  confirmed  to  me  by  a  most  estimable  lady, 
who  had  herself  been  present  at  many  of  these  sittings ;  Mrs. 
John  Davis,  widow  of  the  well-known  ex-Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken.  * 

Mrs.  Davis  expressed  to  me  her  conviction  that  Miss  B • 

was  entirely  sincere  and  disinterested ;  and  that  the  phenomena 
which  she  (Mrs.  Davis,)  had  witnessed  in  Miss  B 's  apart- 
ments were  genuine. 

Miss  B ,  it  seems,  had  several  friends,  married  ladies  in 

the  middle  rank  of  life,  who  had  more  or  less  power  as  me- 
diums, especially  in  connection  with  spiritual  appearances  of 
an  objective  character.     On  several  occasions,  sometimes  in  one 

of  their  houses,  sometimes  in  another.  Miss  B had  herseU 

seen  an  apparition. 

None  of  these  ladies  were  professional  mediums ;  but  it  oc- 
curred to  them  that,  if  they  met  occasionally,  they  might,  by 

their  united  powers,  obtain  very  interesting  results.    Miss  B • 

offered  the  use  of  her  spacious  apartments;  and  during  a 
series  of  experiments  which  were  conducted  there,  phenomena 
of  a  marvellous  character  were  observed :  a  great  variety  of 
spirits  appearing,  chiefly  strangers  to  any  of  the  assistants,  in 
various  costumes. 

This  was  noised  abroad,  and  brought  req^iests,  from  the  curi- 
ous, for  admission  to  witness  such  wonders.  These  were  usually 
granted,  but  uniformly  as  a  favor  and  without  charge.  Opin^ 
ions  were  various :  some  visitors  were  convinced ;  others  went 
away  in  doubt  whether  ib  was  not  an  exhibition  got  up  to  my» 
tify  the  credulous,  or  gratify  a  longing  for  notoriety. 

*  See  Book  iii.  chap.  3. 


4:74  A   WONDEBFUL   EXPERIElSrOB 

This,  of  course,  was  very  unpleasant  to  the  ladies  concerned  ^ 

and  when  I  called  on  Miss  B ,  in  May,  1867,  I  found  that, 

for  several  months,  they  had  almost  ceased  to  meet.     When, 

however,   I   expressed   to   Miss   B my  earnest  desire   to 

investigate  the  matter,  intending,  some  day,  to  publish  the  re- 
sults, she  acceded  to  my  wishes  with  the  utmost  alacrity.  "  1 
am  so  glad,"  she  said,  "  to  have  some  one,  who  will  be  listened 
to,  test  these  phenomena.  When  one  has  no  other  interest  or 
desire  than  to  get  at  important  truth,  it  seems  hard  to  be  sub- 
jected to  groundless  auspicion." 

At  the  first  two  or  three  sittings  a  portion  only  of  the  ladies 
could  attend  ;  and  Miss  B was  of  opinion  that  the  discon- 
tinuance of  their  regular  sittings  had,  for  the  time,  weakened 
their  power.  We  had  only  rapping  and  phosphorescent 
phenomena,  but  of  a  remarkable  character.  Bright  stars 
appeared  on  the  person  of  one  medium,  a  line  of  light  along 
the  forehead  of  another,  the  word  "  Hope,"  on  the  back  of  the 
band  of  a  third.  These  appearances  were  brilliant  and  could 
be  seen,  twenty  feet  off,  across  a  dimly-lighted  room.  At  other 
times  the  raps  were  so  violent  as  to  shake  the  sofa  on  which  we 
sat. 

But  until  the  session,  of  June  4,  there  was  no  apparition. 
On  that  occasion  we  had  one  under  very  satisfactory  circum- 
stances ;  but  I  did  not  consider  the  test  complete ;  for  I  did 
not  witness  either  the  formation  of  the  figure  or  its  disappear- 
ance. 

It  was  not  until  the  twenty-fifth  of  June  that  we  were  able 
to  bring  together  all  the  ladies  who  had  composed  the  original 
circle.  I  consider  that  day,  like  the  twenty-first  of  October, 
1860,  an  era  in  my  spiritual  experience. 

An^  Apparition  in  Shining  Raiment. 

Miss  B 's  rooms,  which  occupied  the  entire  third  floor  of 

a  corner  house  in  Washington  street,  Boston,  consisted  of  a 
large  apartment,  thirty  feet  front  by  thirty-five  feet  deep ;  open- 
ing, by  folding  doors,  into  a  parlor  back  of  it,  which  waa 


QU^  ^^^^ 


AND   ITS   LOCATION, 


475 


tweniy-five  feet  by  twenty.     From  each  room  tliere  was  one 
door  of  exit  only,  on  a  passage  or  stair-landing,  thus : 


Esiiztsazz 


2: 


80  by  35. 


/ 
/ 

/ 

I 


Pazlor20b725 


3      C 


3SSI 


476  THE  MEDIUMS. 

The  front  room  was  lighted  by  eight  windows,  four  on  WasK- 
ington  street,  and  four  on  a  gas-lit  court-yard.  As  there  were 
no  curtains  drawn  nor  shutters  closed  during  the  sitting,  which 
was  held  after  lamp-lighting,  this  room  was  so  far  lit  from  with 
out  thatj  by  any  one  seated  in  the  back  parlor,  a  few  feet  from 
the  folding-doors,  the  dress  and  general  appearance  of  persona 
in  the  front  room  could  be  readily  observed  and  every  motion 
they  made  distinctly  seen.  I  took  notice,  however,  that  there 
was  not  light  enough  to  recognize  features,  except  close  at 
hand.  In  this  room,  employed  for  dancing  lessons,  the  floor 
was  uncarpeted  and  waxed.  All  footsteps  of  persons  walking 
across  it  could  be  very  distinctly  heard. 

Except  myself  there  was  but  one  visitor  present,  Mrs.  John 
Davis.     The  amateur  mediums  who  assisted  at  the  sitting  were 

six  in  number :    Mrs.  S.  J.  D ,   Mrs.   George  N.  B , 

Mrs.  Sarah  A.  K ,  Mrs.  Fanny  C.  P ,  Mrs.  William  H. 

C ;  and  Mrs.  Mary  Anne  C :    all  ladies,  apparently, 

from  thirty  to  forty  yeai-s  of  age. 

Before  the  sitting  began,  Mrs.  Davis  and  myself  passed 
around  the  room  and  examined  carefully  every  part  of  it.  The 
furniture  consisted  of  a  sofa,  a  piano,  and  numerous  chairs  set 
against  the  walls.  There  was  no  pantry,  or  press,  or  recess  of 
any  kind.  We  locked  the  sole  door  of  exit,  and  Mrs.  Davis 
kept  the  key  in  her  pocket  during  the  sitting.  Then  we  locked 
the  door  of  the  back  parlor,  retaining  the  key. 

We  sat  down  in  that  parlor  directly  before  the  folding-doors. 
The  sofa  (marked  s.  on   ground-plan),  on  which  Mrs.  Davis, 

Miss  B and  myself  were  seated,  was  about  four  or  five  feet 

within  the  parlor.  I  sat  at  the  left-hand  corner  of  this  sofa : 
the  entrance  through  the  folding-doors  was  draped  by  curtains, 
which  were  looped  back ;  so  that,  from  where  I  sat,  I  could  see 
three  of  the  four  front  windows  looking  out  on  Washington 
street  and  the  corner  of  the  room  to  the  right  of  them.  Tha 
six  mediums  sat  three  on  each  side  of  us. 

All  was  quiet  during  the  early  part  of  the  sitting,  which 


THE   FIGURE   APPEARS,  477 

comiaeDced  a  Kttle  after  eight  p.m.     Scarcely  any  rapping.     A 
few  phosphorescent  lights. 

About  a  quarter  past  nine,  all  the  mediums  being  seated  by 
us,  I  saw  dimly,  near  the  right-hand  comer  of  the  front  line  o1 
the  large  room  (at  x),  at  first  a  grayish,  slightly-luminoua 
vapor  ;  after  a  time,  a  figure  draped  in  white.  At  first  ifc  was 
stationary ;  then  it  moved  very  slowly  past  the  two  right-hand 
windows  (a  and  b)  to  the  centre  of  the  front  line  of  the  room 
(at  c),  between  two  windows.  There  it  remained  one  or  two 
minutes,  still  but  indistinctly  visible.  Then,  very  slowly  and 
without  sound  of  footstep,  it  advanced  down  the  room,  coming 
directly  toward  the  centre  of  the  folding  doors.  It  stopped  (at 
d)  about  twelve  or  foirrteen  feet  from  where  I  was  sitting. 
Thereupon,  of  a  sudden,  a  brilliant  light,  coming  from  the  right, 
striking  dii-ectly  on  the  figure  and  only  on  it — not  directly 
illuminating  the  rest  of  the  room — enabled  me  to  see  the  ap- 
pearance as  perfectly  as  if  the  entire  room  had  been  lit  with 
gas. 

It  was  a  female  figirre,  of  medium  height,  veiled  and  draped, 
from  head  to  foot,  in  white.  The  drapery  did  not  resemble,  in 
material,  anything  I  have  ever  seen  worn.  It  gave  me,  as  on  a 
previous  occasion,*  the  exact  feeling  of  the  Scriptural  expres- 
sion, "  shining  raiment."  Its  brilliancy  was  a  good  deal  like 
that  of  new-fallen  snow,  in  the  sunshine;  recalling  the  text 
which  declares  the  garments  of  Christ,  during  his  transfigura- 
tion, to  have  been  ''  exceeding  white  as  snow ; "  or,  again,  it 
was  not  unlike  the  finest  and  freshest  Parian  marble  with  a 
bright  light  on  it,  only  more  brilliant.  It  had  not  at  all  the 
glitter  of  spangles  or  any  shining  ornament ;  the  tone  being  as 
uniform  as  that  of  a  newly-sculptured  statue.  It  stood  upright, 
in  a  graceful  attitude,  motionless.  Had  I  suddenly  seen  it  else- 
where, and  without  having  witnessed  its  previous  movements,  ] 
might  have  imagined  it  a  beautiful  piece  of  sculpture,  of  sin 
^larly-pure  material,  and  marvellously  lighted  up.  The  dra- 
pery fell  around  the  figure  closely,  as  usual  in  a  statue ;  nol 

*  June  4 ;  already  alluded  to. 


4:78  THE  FIGURE   DISAPPEABS. 

at  all  according  to  tlie  modem  fashion  of  amplitude.  I  thint 
it  was  shown  to  us,  under  the  bright  light,  as  long  as  fifteen  oi 
twenty  seconds. 

Mrs.  K stepped  out  to  meet  it,  going  close  up  to  it,  ana 

then  returning  to  us.     The  figure  followed  her ;   and,  as  Mrs. 

K ,  when  she  passed  the  folding-doors,  had  stepped  aside 

to  the  right,  the  apparition  advanced,  with  a  gliding  motion, 
into  the  parlor,  till,  as  nearly  as  I  could  judge,  it  was  within 
two  or  three  feet  of  me.     There  it  stopped  (at  e). 

As  it  remained  immovable  I  raised  my  left  arm,  hoping  that 
I  should  be  touched.  As  I  stretched  it  out,  the  figure  extended 
its  right  arm,  covered  with  drapery,  toward  me ;  and  dropped 
into  my  hand  what  proved  to  be  a  white  rose ;  but  its  hand 
did  not  touch  mine. 

Thereupon  the  appearance,  still  keeping  its  face  to  us,  slowly 
retired  with  the  same  silent,  gliding  motion  which  had  marked 
its  advance ;  not  the  slightest  sound  of  footstep,  on  the  waxed 
floor,  being  audible. 

A  second  time  it  stopped,  again  about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
from  me ;  and,  a  second  time,  an  instantaneous  light,  coming 
from  the  right  and  falling  upon  it,  gave  it  to  be  seen  with  the 
utmost  distinctness.  I  was  enabled  to  verify  my  former  obser- 
vations in  regard  to  its  appearance,  and  the  unique,  rich,  re- 
splendent character  of  the  drapery. 

Then  it  slowly  receded,  still  facing  us,  to  the  centre  of  the 
opposite  wall  (at  c),  gradually  diminishing  in  brightness  ;  and 
finally  it  vanished  before  my  eyes. 

Mrs.  K had  followed  it  and  remained,  a  few  seconds, 

near  the  spot  where  it  vanished.  Then  I  saw  her  cross  the 
window  to  the  right  on  her  return  to  us.  She  was  dressed  in 
black. 

I  am  quite  certain  that  one  figure  only — that  of  Mrs.  K 

as  she  returned  to  us — left  the  spot.  From  the  time  the  figure 
in  white  reached  that  spot,  I  kept  my  eyes  intently  fixed  there, 
without  taking  them  off  for  a  single  mcyment ;  and  the  light 
from  the  street  was  such  that  it  was  impossible  for  any  object^ 


THE   ILLUMINATXON.  479 

black  or  white,  to  pass  one  of  the  windows  without  my  see- 
ing it. 

When  a  minute  or  two  had  elapsed  after  the  disappearance 
of  the  figure,  and  while  my  eyes  were  still  fixed  on  the  spot, 
the  thought  rushed  vividly  upon  me :  "  Is  it  possible  that  there 
can  be  nothing  there  ?  "  This  thought,  to  which  I  did  not  give 
utterance,  had  hardly  crossed  my  mind  when,  as  if  in  reply  to 
it,  the  same  sort  of  mysterious  light  which  had  previously 
illuminated  the  figure  suddenly  flashed  over  the  space  of  wall 
between  the  two  windows  where  the  figure  had  disappeared, 
completely  lighting  it  up,  while  the  windows  and  wall  on  either 
skle  vjere  not  illuminated.  The  light  remained  long  enough  to 
show  me  that  there  was  nothing  whatever  there,  except  two 
chairs  set  against  the  wall,  as  I  had  seen  them  before  the  sitting 
began. 

Then,  with  my  eyes  still  fixed  on  the  place  of  disappearance, 
I  rose  and  passed  entirely  around  the  room :  nor  did  I,  for  a 
moment,  take  my  eyes  off  the  spot  that  had  been  illuminated 
till  I  reached  it.  Everything  in  the  room  was  exactly  as  it 
had  been  before  the  sittiug,  so  far  as  I  could  recollect.  The 
outer  door  was  still  locked. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  two  of  the  mediums,  Mrs.  K 

and  Mrs.  D ,  informed  me,  after  the  sitting  was  over,  that 

they  did  not  remember  seeing  anything  of  the  figure;  both 
having  awoke,  as  from  a  trance,  at  the  close  of  the  sitting. 
This,  Miss  B informed  me,  was  usual  with  them. 

I  do  not  think  that  any  of  the  assistants  perceived  the  forma 
tion  of  the  apparition  as  soon  as  I  did ;  but  while  the  figure 
was  advancLQg  and  retreating,  the  whispered  remarks  of  the 
ladies  near  me — "  There  it  is !  " — "  Now  it  stops  !  " — "  Did 
you  see  that  light  ?  "  etc. — made  me  aware  that  they  saw  it 
just  as  I  did.     This  was  confirmed  to  me,  on  after  inquiry,  by 

all  the  ladies  except  Mrs.  K and  Mrs.  D .     All  the 

others  observed  the  sudden  illumination  of  the  spot  where  the 
figure  disappeared. 

As  on  a  former  occasion,  it  is  proper  I  should  state  here  that, 


480  EEMARKS   ON   THE 

throughout  the  sitting,  though  the  impression  produced  waa 
profound,  solemn  beyond  expression,  never  to  be  forgotten,  yet 
it  did  not  partake  at  all  of  the  emotion  of  fear.  The  predomi 
nant  feeling  was  a  deep  anxiety  that  there  miglit  be  no  inter- 
ruption, and  that  the  sitting  might  not  terminate  until  I  had 
obtained  incontrovertible  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  appear- 
ance was  of  a  spiritual  character,  yet  as  real  as  any  earthly 
phenomenon. 

The  allegation,  by  raps,  at  the  close  of  the  sitting,  was  that 
the  apparition  was  that  of  Violet.  Seven  years  before,  during 
a  sitting  with  Kate  Fox,  I  had  had  a  promise,  purporting  to 
come  from  her,  that,  some  day  when  the  conditions  were  favor 
able,  she  would  appear  to  me.  The  veil  quite  concealed  the 
features ;  but  the  height,  the  form  and  carriage  of  the  figure,  so 
strictly  corresponded  to  hers  that,  when  it  approached  me,  I 
ceased  to  doubt  that  she  had  kept  her  promise. 

My  faith  in  the  reality  of  this  appearance  is  not  at  all  shaken 
by  reflecting  that  a  Signer  Blitz,  or  a  Robert-Houdin,  having 
a  theatre  at  command,  arranged  with  ready  entrances  and  exits, 
"with  practical  trap-doors,  with  dark  lanterns  in  the  wings,  with 
the  means  of  producing  dissolving  views — could  probably  re- 
produce all  I  witnessed. 

But  here  were  a  few  ladies,  in  private  life  and  in  moderate 
circumstances,  quietly  meeting  in  two  apartments  which  were 
daily  used  as  school-rooms  by  one  of  their  number;  on  the 
third  story  of  a  private  house,*  containing  not  even  a  recess 
where  a  chair  could  be  hidden  away.  They  meet  to  satisfy  a 
laudable  curiosity ;  admitting  visitors,  now  and  then,  by  cour- 
tesy only.  No  remuneration  is  demanded;  nor,  very  surely, 
would  any  have  been  accepted.  They  meet,  on  this  occasion, 
at  my  request,  after  having  discontinued  their  researches  for 
months,  vexed  with  unjust  suspicions.  They  allow  us  to  lock 
evftry  exit,  after  a  close  examination  of  the  rooms.     Here  ia 

*  The.  floor  below  was  daily  used  for  mercantile  purposes. 


FOREGOING  EXFERIENCP:.  481 

neither  motive,  nor  opportimity — to  say  nothing  of  qualification 
—for  deception.  The  coin  of  the  realm  may  be  counterfeited, 
but  the  coiners  must  have  professional  skill,  an  appropriate 
location,  and  expensive  machinery.  Nor  do  counterfeiters  ply 
their  unholy  calling  except  with  the  prospect  of  large  gains. 

Certain  it  is,  that  I  beheld  the  gradual  foimation  of  th* 
figure ;  that  I  witnessed  its  movements  ;  that  T  recei  ved  from 
its  hand  an  actual  flower ;  *  that  1  saw  the  figure  disappear. 
Add  to  this  that  the  place  of  its  disappearirnce  was  illuminatod 
by  invisible  agency,  in  answer  to  an  raiexpressed  thought  of 
mine.  If  Robert-Houdin  can  read  thoughts,  he  has  a  spiritual 
gift. 

If  the  reader  still  withholds  belief,  dceining  two  or  three 
examples  insufficient  to  prove  so  strange  a  phenomenon  as  the 
formation,  by  spiritual  agency,  and  the  subsequent  disappear- 
ance, of  a  form  sufficiently  material  to  grasp  a  substantial  ob- 
ject  and  hand  it  to  a  hum^n  being — lot  him  read  the  next 
chapter. 

*  I  asked  Miss  B if  there  had  been  any  white  rose  in  the  room. 

She  replied  tkat  there  were  several  nosegays  there  that  had  been  pre- 
sented to  her  by  her  pupils,  and,  very  probably,  there  might  have  been 
such  a  rose  among  them.  The  flower  which  was  given  to  me  is  stdi 
in  my  possession. 


^..^-t^-^ 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  NfelAK   BELATIVE    SHOWS   HERSELF,   THROUGHOUT    FIVE   YEARt, 
TO   A   SURVIVING   FRIEND. 

A  JUDICIOUS  miin  of  science,  experimenting  in  his  laboratory, 
seeks,  before  giving  to  the  world  the  result  of  an  important  ex- 
periment, to  repeat  that  experiment  more  than  once.  Inas- 
much as  the  governing  law  endures,  any  result  obtained  under 
that  law  must  be  capable  of  being  reproduced :  and  its  reproduc- 
tion, time  after  time,  will  usually  be  deemed  necessary  to  give 
assurance  of  its  genuine  character ;  seeing  that  a  fallible 
observer  may  readily  mistake  or  misinterpret,  when  his  obser- 
vation is  limited  to  a  single  example. 

Some  physical  phenomena,  however,  are  spontaneous  and 
cannot  be  produced  at  will.  We  cannot  evoke  an  aurora  borc- 
alis,  or  call  down  aerolites  from  the  sky.  Apparitions  have 
usually  been  thought  to  be  of  that  character,  if  believed  in  at 
all :  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  they  are.  Among  the  supersti- 
tious a  belief  has  sometimes  prevailed  that  the  dead  may  be  re- 
called by  mystic  and  unlawful  rites,  as  Saul  by  the  so-called 
"  Witch "  of  En-dor.  But  such  a  superstition  finds  few 
believers  in  modern  times.  All  that  there  is  of  truth  underly- 
ing it  consists  in  this,  that,  under  favorable  conditions,  of  rare 
and  difficult  combination,  we  may  occasionally  obtain  appari- 
tions ;  and  may  even  be  favored  so  as  to  witness  these  pgain 
and  again :  not  during  weeks  or  months  only,  but  throughout 
years. 

I  am  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  lay  before  the  reader 
one  of  the  most  remarkable — perhaps  tlie  most  remarkable — 
example  of  this  that  has  ever  occurred ;  or,  at  least,  that  is  lo 
De  found  on  record :  with  permission,  from  tho  witness,  to  giva 


DEATH    OF   ESTELLE.  483 

liis  nanre  in  attestation.  It  is  a  name  well  known  in  the  com- 
mercial and  social  circles  of  New  York, — Mr.  Livermore. 

This  gentleman,  eleven  years  ago,  lost  a  near  and  dear  rela- 
tive :  let  us  call  her  Estelle.  On  her  death-bed,  perceiving  the 
poignant  grief  that  overwhelmed  her  relative  at  the  pros- 
pect of  his  approaching  loss,  she  earnestly  expressed  the  desire 
that  it  might  be  possible  for  her,  after  death,  still  to  assure 
him  of  her  continued  existence. 

He  attached  little  importance  to  this  except  as  evidence  of  her 
affection ;  having  himself,  up  to  that  time,  found  no  proof  sat- 
isfactory to  his  reason  touching  a  Hereafter.  Neither  he  nor 
Estelle  had  any  faith  whatever  in  spiritual  phenomena ;  and 
both  had  been  wont  to  regard  the  whole  subject  with  repug- 
nance. 

When  Mr.  Livermore  found  himself  alone,  his  extreme  grief 
was  terribly  embittered  by  the  thought  that  it  was  a  separation 
forever.  Expressing  this  in  strong  terms  to  his  friend.  Dr. 
John  F.  Gray,  who  had  been  Estelle's  physician  from  child- 
hood, that  gentleman  (one  of  the  earliest  believers  in  inter- 
mundane  phenomena)  suggested  that  there  was  a  remedy  capa- 
ble of  alleviating  his  grief,  if  he  (Mr.  L.)  saw  fit  to  resort  to 
it.  The  reply  was  a  contemptuous  fling  at  Spiritualism  and  its 
delusions  :  and  the  sufferer  went  his  way,  hopeless  and  des- 
olate. 

After  a  time,  however,  came  the  sober  second-thought  that 
there  might  be  something  in  a  docti-ine  which  so  earnest  and 
thoughtful  a  man  as  Dr.  Gray  implicitly  accepted.  Accord- 
ingly, at  his  friend's  suggestion,  he  resolved  to  seek  sittings 
with  Miss  Kate  Fox. 

The  sittings  were  held  sometimes  in  Mrs.  Fox's  parlor,  some- 
times in  Mr.  Livermore's.  *  In  all  cases  the  necessary  precau- 
tions were  taken  to  give  assurance  that  no  one  entered  the 
room,  or  left  it,  during  the  sitting ;  the  room  itself  being  ihor- 

*  Both  Mrs.  Fox  and  Mr.  Livermore  changed  residences  during  the 
time  these  sittings  were  held ;  »o  that  the  phenomena  were  ottained 
in  fom  different  d>-ellings. 


484:  THE   FIRST    APPEAEAjSTCE. 

ougiily  examined,  and  doors  f aid  windows  effectually  secured 
At  several  of  the  first  sittings  three  or  four  visitors  were  ad- 
mitted as  additional  witnesses.  But  it  soon  became  apparent 
that  the  best  results  could  be  obtained  with  a  single  sitter 
only :  and  accordingly,  as  a  general  rule,  Mr.  Livermore  only 
was  present. 

During  the  first  sitting,  which  was  held  January  23,  1861, 
he,  Mr.  L.,  for  the  first  time,  heard  the  mysterious  echoea 
— the  "  raps,"  as  they  are  usually  called.  Then,  throughout 
the  first  ten  or  twelve  sittings,  followed  the  usual  phenomena ; 
spirit-touches,  spirit-communications,  moving  of  ponderable 
bodies,  etc.  :  finally  spirit- writing.  During  the  twelfth  sitting 
came  a  message,  purporting  to  be  from  Estelle,  to  the  efiect 
that  if  her  friend  persevered,  her  spirit  could  be  made  visible 
to  him.  Then,  throughout  a  dozen  sessions  more,  came  phos- 
phorescent lights,  disappearing  and  reappearing  at  intervals  ;  at 
last,  on  the  twenty-fourth  sitting  (March  14th),  the  dim  out- 
line of  a  figure,  moving  about.  Three  days  afterward  there 
came  this  message :  "I  know  that  I  can  make  myself  visible 
to  you.  Meet  to-morrow  night.  Secure  the  doors  and  win- 
dows, for  I  wish  the  test  to  be  beyond  all  doubt,  for  your  good 
and  the  good  of  others." 

The  next  evening  the  session  was  at  Mrs.  Fox's  residence, 
but  the  family  were  absent,  so  that  the  medium  and  the  sitter 
alone  occupied  the  house.  Mr.  L.  sealed  the  windows,  sealed 
and  locked  the  doors,  and  placed  heavy  furniture  against  them  • 
then  searched  the  room  thoroughly  and  extinguished  the  gas. 
Soon  came  the  words  :  "I  am  here  in  form."  Then  a  globular 
light  appeared,  with  crackling  sounds.  After  a  time  it  became 
a  head,  veiled  :  then,  but  for  a  single  instant  only,  Mr.  L.  recog 
nized  the  features  of  Estelle.  Then  a  figure  was  seen :  all  this 
being  visible  by  phosphorescent  or  electrical  lights  in  various 
parts  of  the  room.  During  all  this  time  Mr.  L.  held  both  of 
the  medium's  hands.  Then  the  mode  of  producing  raps  was 
shown :  an  orange-shaped  luminous  ball,  with  blunt  point  at- 
tached, bounding  up  and  down  on  the  tabl^,  and  the  sound  of 


THE   KECOGNmOK".  485 

each  rap  coinciding  with  the  approach  of  the  ball  to  the  table 
top. 

It  was  somewhat  later,  however,  that 

The   Crucial  Test 

was  first  obtained.     I  copy  from  Mr.  L.'s  record : 

"  i\^o.  43.  April  18, 1861.  Wind  south-west.  Weather  fail. 
Having  absolutely  secured  doors  and  windows,  we  sat  in  per* 
feet  quiet  for  half  an  hour,  my  faith  becoming  weak.  Then 
we  were  startled  by  a  tremendous  rap  on  the  heavy  mahogany 
centre-table  which,  at  the  same  time,  rose  and  fell.  The  door 
v/as  violently  shaken,  the  windows  opened  and  shut :  in  fact, 
everything  movable  in  the  room  seemed  in  motion.  Questions 
were  answered  by  loud  knocks  on  the  doors,  on  the  glass  of  the 
windows,  on  the  ceiling — everywhere. 

"  Then  an  illuminated  substance  like  gauze  rose  from  the  flooi 
behind  us,  moved  about  the  room  and  finally  came  in  front  of 
us.  Vigorous  electrical  sounds  were  heard.  The  gauze-like 
substance  assumed  the  form  of  a  human  head"  covered,  the  cov- 
ering drawn  close  around  the  neck.  It  touched  me;  then 
receded  and  again  approached.  I  recognized  an  oblong  sub- 
stance, concave  on  the  side  that  was  presented  to  us,  and  in 
this  cavity  the  light  was  brilliant.  Into  this  I  looked  intently 
for  a  fac3,  but  none  appeared.  Again  it  receded  and  again  ap- 
proached :  this  time  I  perceived  an  eye.  A  third  time  it 
moved  backv/ard,  accompanied  by  electrical  sounds,  and  when, 
a  third  time,  it  came  close  to  me  the  light  had  brightened,  the 
gauze  had  changed  in  form;  a  female  hand  grasped  it,  conceal- 
ing the  lower  pai-t  of  a  face  ;  but  the  upper  part  was  revealed : 
it  was  that  of  Estelle — eyes,  forehead,  and  expression  in  per- 
fection. The  moment  the  emotion  of  recognition  passed  into 
my  mind,  it  was  acknowledged  by  a  succession  of  quick  raps 
from  all  parts  of  the  room,  as  though  an  unseen  audience 
expressed  its  applause. 

"  Tlie  figure  reappeared  several  times,  the  recognition  becom* 


4:SQ  THE  EEFLBOnON  IN  THE  GLASS. 

lag  each  time  more  nearly  perfect.  Afterward  her  head  was 
laid  upon  mine,  the  hair  falling  over  my  face. 

"  Miss  Fox  (whose  hands  I  had  secured  during  all  this  time) 
and  I  sat  about  ten  feet  from  the  wall  of  the  room  which  faced 
us.  The  Kght  moved  to  a  point  about  midway  between  us-  and 
the  wall ;  the  electrical  cracklings  increased ;  the  wall  was  illu- 
minated and  brought  out  an  entire  female  figure  facing  that 
side  of  the  room,  the  light  apparently  in  one  of  her  hands. 
The  form  remained  lq  sight  fulli/  half  an  hour  and  each  move- 
ment was  distinctly  visible.     Then  came  the  message : 

"  *  l^ow  see  me  rise : ' 

"  And  immediately,  in  full  brightness,  the  figure  rose  to  the 
ceiling,  remained  there  a  few  moments  suspended ;  then  gently 
descending,  disappeared. 

"  Afterward*  she  showed  herself  between  us  and  a  mirror.  Tlie 
reflection  of  tlie  figure  in  the  glass  was  distinctly  visible,  the  light 
being  so  bright  as  to  show  the  veins  in  a  marble  slab  beneath. 

"  Here  a  heavy  shower  of  rain  fell,  and  there  was  spelled 
out :  *  The  atmosphere  has  changed.  I  cannot  remain  in  form : ' 
whereupon  both  light  and  figure  finally  disappeared." 

At  a  sitting  held  two  days  later,  the  following  communica- 
tion was  received :  * 

*  I  bare  remark  tbat  all  commtmications  obtained  through  Kate  Fox 
were  either — 

Spelled  out,  letter  after  letter,  by  the  raps : 

Or  else  written,  sometimes  by  Kate's  right  hand,  sometimes  by  the 
left ;  but  the  writing  always  executed  inversely  ;  so  that  it  could  only 
be  read  by  holding  it  against  a  mirror. 

Occasionally  she  writes  two  communications  at  once ;  both  hands 
moving  at  the  same  time,  each  on  a  separate  sheet.  And  I  have  my- 
self witnessed  the  following  :  While  her  hand  was  writing,  there  was, 
by  raps,  a  call  for  the  alphabet ;  whereupon  Kate  called  over  the  let- 
ters and  took  down  tho  message,  letter  by  letter,  witlioutfor  a  Tnoment 
discontinuing  her  icriting.  Mr.  L.  has  often  witnessed  all  the  above 
phases  of  communication. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  internal  evidence  of  many  of  the  messages 
is,  especially  to  those  who  know  Miss  Fox  well,  conclusive  evidence 
that  these  originate  entirely  outside  of  her  will  and  of  her  intelligence. 


THE   FIGTJKE   IN   PERFECTION.  487 

"  My  heart  is  full  of  joy.  We  t^annot  be  grateful  enough  tc 
the  Giver  of  this  great  boon.  I  have  seen  your  heart — the 
shadows  that  rested  upon  it,  the  lights  that  now  glorify  it.  Be 
happy  and  fear  not.     Peace  be  with  you  alway. 

"  ESTELLE." 

So  far,  the  upper  part  of  the  face  only  had  been  seen ;  but 
on  the  evening  after  the  above  message  was  received  (namely, 
April  21),  the  complete  test  was  obtained.  After  giving  the 
details  of  various  manifestations  apparently  of  a  phosphores- 
cent character,  Mr.  Livermore  says  :  "  At  last  a  luminous  globe 
which  had  remained  stationary  some  six  feet  to  my  left  floated 
in  front,  and  came  within  two  feet  of  me.  It  was  violently 
agitated,  crackling  sounds  were  heard,  and  a  figure  became  vis- 
ible by  its  light.  Then  there  was  revealed  the  full  head  and 
face  of  Estelle,  every  feature  and  lineament  in  perfection,  spir- 
itualized in  shadowy  beauty,  such  as  no  imagination  can  con- 
ceive or  pen  describe.  In  her  hair,  above  the  left  temple,  was 
a  single  white  rose ;  the  hair  being  apparently  arranged  with 
great  care.  The  entire  head  and  face  faded  and  then  became 
visible  again,  at  least  twenty  times ;  the  perfection  of  recogni- 
tion, in  each  case,  being  in  proportion  to  the  brilliancy  of  the 
light." 

But,  at  this  session,  he,  Mr.  L.,  obtained  other  proof  than 
that  of  sight  to  coufii-m  the  reality  of  the  appearance.  The 
head  of  the  appearing  figure  rested  for  a  time  upon  his,  the 
luxuriant  hair  dropping  over  his  face  and  into  his  hand.  He 
says  :  "  I  laid  hold  of  the  hair,  which  seemed,  to  the  touch,  at 
first  identical  with  human  hair ;  but,  after  a  brief  space,  it 
melted  away^  leaving  nothing  in  my  grasp?'' 

I  select,  at  hap-hazard  from  numerous  subsequent  descrip- 
tions, the  following : 

"  No.  ^^.  Xune  2,  1861 :  8.30  p.m.  There  came  a  reminder, 
by  raps  :  *  Examine  the  room  and  take  the  keys  of  the  doors ;  ^ 
which  I  did. 

*'  We  had  scarcely  seated  ourselves  when  there  were  violent 


4S8  EXHIBITION  OF  BEAUTY 

movoments,  succeeded  at  first  by  raps  from  various  parts  of 
the  room,  tlien  by  terrific,  crashing  reports  on  the  table-top, 
like  miniature  thunderbolts,  or  loud  discharges  of  electricity. 

"  A  rustling  succeeded ;  and  a  form  stood  beside  me ;  its 
sphere  permeating  every  fibre  of  my  organization.  Then  there 
was  rapping  on  the  back  of  my  chair,  afterward  on  my  shoul- 
ders ;  and  the  figure,  bending  forward,  placed  a  hand  on  my 
head.  A  bright  light  sprang  up  behind  us  ;  it  rose,  attended 
by  electrical  sounds.  Then  I  was  kissed  on  the  head  and  a 
light  but  distinctly-felt  substance  passed  over  me.  Thereupon 
I  raised  my  eyes  and  beheld  the  face  of  Estelle,  plainly  visible 
in  front  of  the  light,  which  now  vibrated  rapidly,  throwing  its 
fitful  gleams  upon  such  beauty  as,  in  beings  of  this  world,  it  is 
not  given  us  to  witness.  She  looked  at  me  with  an  expression 
radiant  with  blessedness. 

"  At  this  point  Miss  Fox  became  so  excited  that  her  irre- 
pressible exclamations  of  wonder  and  delight  seemed  momenta- 
rily to  disturb  the  appearance ;  for  it  receded,  not  appearing 
again  until  she  became  calm ;  and  this  occurred  several  times. 
Simultaneously  lights  appeared,  floating  about  in  different 
parts  of  the  room. 

"  A  card  with  which  I  had  provided  myself  was  then  taken 
from  my  hand  and,  after  a  time,  visibly  returned  to  me.  On  it 
I  found  a  communication  beautifully  written  in  pure,  idiomatic 
French ;  not  a  word  of  which  was  understood  by  Miss  Fox : 
she  has  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  language." 

Passing  over  several  intervening  appearances  on  separate 
evenings,  I  find  this,  under  date  June  4 : 

"iV^o.  81.  Weather  cool  and  pleasant.  Wind  north-west." 
After  detailing  sundry  less  important  phenomena,  Mr.  L.  pro- 
ceeds ; 

"  There  were  very  distinct  rustlings,  and  there  rose,  several 
feet  above  the  table,  a  light  so  vivid  as  to  illuminate  all  sur- 
rounding objects.  As  it  approached  me,  a  dark  substance  was 
suddenly  interposed.  This  descended  from  the  light  and  re- 
mained stationary  about  two  feet  from  my  eyes.     Gradually  it 


BEYOND   WHAT  IS   FOUND   ON  EAETH.  489 

opened,  disclosing  a  glimpse  of  Heaven  and  of  an  angel  aa 
bright  as  imagination  can  picture.  The  figure  of  Estelle  stood 
there,  the  same  pure,  white  rose  in  her  tresses :  features  and 
expression  absolutely  perfect  unuer  a  full  blaze  of  light. 

"  Six  or  seven  times  in  succession,  this  form  instinct  with 
life  and  beauty  vanished  and  then  reappeared,  before  my  eyes. 
When  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  hour  had  elapsed,  figure  and 
light  both  disappeared ;  but  in  a  short  time  the  light  again 
showed  itself ;  this  time  in  a  corner  of  the  apartment,  where  it 
shone  out  so  brightly  that  every  article  of  furniture  in  that 
part  of  the  room  was  distinctly  visible.  And  there,  just  as 
plainly  visible,  stood  a  female  figure,  in  full  proportions,  the 
back  toward  us,  and  a  veil,  apparently  of  shining  gauze,  cover- 
ing the  head,  and  dropping,  in  front,  to  the  knees. 

"  I  asked  if  she  would  raise  her  arm.  She  did  so — the  at- 
titude inexpressibly  graceful.  No  pen  can  describe  the  exquisite, 
transcendant  beauty  of  what  was  this  night  revealed." 

I  do  not  see  how  we  can  reject,  or  explain  away,  such  evi- 
dence as  the  above,  even  if  the  record  were  arrested  here. 
But  what  will  the  reader  say  when  he  is  informed  that  more 
than  THREE  HUNDRED  additional  sittings  were  still  to  b*»  held ; 
all  confirmatory  of  the  above  experiences. 

It  is  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  this  volume,  to  follow 
Mr.  Livermore  throughout  his  voluminous  record.  I  can  but 
pick  out,  here  and  there,  a  few  of  the  more  salient  and  irrefut- 
ftble  results. 

Corroboration  throughout  Several  Years. 

Here  is  an  item  touching  on  the  resemblances  between  this 
world  ai.d  the  next : 

"iVo.  93  tTvly  17,  1861.  Each  succeeding  appearance 
seems  more  nearly  perfect.  This  evening  the  figure  of  Estelle 
was  surrounded  by  floating  drapery  of  shining,  white  gauze. 
In  her  hand,  held  under  her  chin,  was  a  bunch  of  flowers ;  and 
neck,  and  bosom  were  conipletely  covered  with  roses  and  violeta 
21* 


490  A  DABK-ROBED  FIGURE 

"  I  asked .  '  Where  do  you  obtain  these  flowers  ?  '  The 
ansA^er  was :  *  This  world  is  a  counterpart  of  yours.  "VVe  have 
all  that  you  have — gardens  and  spiritual  flowers  in  abund- 
ance.' " 

-Next  month  came  this,  among  many  others : 

"  N'o.  116.  August  29.  The  figure  of  Estelle  appeared  soon 
after  we  entered  the  room.  She  stood  quietly  while  a  light 
floated  close  to  face,  head,  and  neck  :  as  if  to  show  each  part 
more  distinctly.  While  we  were  looking  on,  her  hair  fell  ovei 
her  face,  and  she  put  it  back  several  times  with  her  hand.  Her 
hair  was  dressed  with  roses  and  violets,  beautifully  arranged. 
This  was  the  most  perfect  of  her  efforts :  she  appeared  almost 
as  distinctly  as  in  life. 

"  By  her  side  stood  a  foi*m,  dressed,  as  we  clearly  saw,  in 
coat  of  what  seemed  dark  cloth.  Miss  Fox  became  greatly 
alarmed  and  very  nervous.  Because  of  this,  or  for  some  other 
reason,  the  face  of  this  second  form  was  not  visible  and  it  soon 
disappeared."  [More  of  this  figure  hereafter.]  The  form  of 
Estelle,  however,  remained. 

Then  we  have  an  incident  going  to  prove  that  an  apparition 
may  handle  earthly  objects.  The  weather  being  warm.  Mi*. 
Livermore  had  brought  with  him,  and  laid  on  the  table  beforo 
him,  a  fan.  This  was  taken  and  held  by  her,  in  various  posi- 
tions, sometimes  concealing  a  portion  of  her  face.  He  (Mr.  L.) 
adds : 

"  The  figure  must  have  been  visible  to  us,  during  this  sitting, 
for  an  hour  and  a  halfP 

It  appears  that  the  robes  with  which  it  was  invested,  though 
they  dissolved  in  the  hand,  had  a  certain  materiality. 

"  No.  137.  October  4.  The  figure  of  Estelle  came  in  great 
dvidness  and  with  extraordinary  power.  A  light  floated  about 
*yhe  room  and  she  followed  it,  gliding  through  the  air ;  at  one 
time  her  long,  white  robes  sweeping  over  the  table,  and  brush- 
ing from  ii  pencils,  paper,  and  other  light  objects,  which  fell  to 
the  floor." 


THROWS   ITS   SHADOW   ON   THE  WALL.  491 

Doctor  Franklin. 

By  the  raps  it  was  announced  that  the  dark-robed  figure 
vv'hich  had  once  or  twice  appeared  was  that  of  Dr.  Franklin ; 
but  no  further  proof  of-  his  identity  was  obtained  until  the  sit 
ting  N'o.  162,  of  N'ovemher  11.  Then  his  face  was  first  seen, 
by  a  light  which  seemed  to  be  held  by  another  figure.  "  If 
any  judgment  can  be  formed  from  original  portraits  of  the 
man,"  Mr.  L.  says,  "  there  woidd  seem  to  be  no  mistake  about 
his  identity.  He  was  dressed  in  brown  coat  of  the  olden  stj  le, 
with  white  cravat :  his  head  very  large,  with  whitish  or  gray 
hair  behind  the  ears ;  the  whole  face  radiant  with  intelligence, 
benevolence,  and  spirituality." 

The  next  evening  he  came  again.  Here  is  the  record : 
"  The  raps  requested  that  a  chair  be  placed  for  Dr.  Franklin 
on  the  side  of  the  table  opposite  to  where  we  sat.  But  the 
idea  of  such  a  vis-^-vis  made  Miss  Fox  so  nervous  that  I  did 
not  insist.  After  a  time  she  became  quiet,  and  we  heard  the 
chair  moved  to  the  desired  spot. 

"At  this  time  the  lights  were  dim;  but  I  perceived  a  dark 
figure  standing  near  me.  Very  soon  it  moved  round  ttie  table, 
a  rustling  was  heard,  the  lights  brightened,  and  we  saw  what 
seemed  the  old  philosopher  himself  seated  in  the  chair ;  his 
entire  form  and  dress  in  perfection.  So  vivid  was  the  lightj 
and  so  palpable  (as  it  would  seem)  the  form  before  us,  that 
its  sliadow  was  thrown  upon  the  wall,  precisely  as  if  it  had 
been  a  mortal  seated  there.  The  position  was  easy  and  digni- 
fied, one  arm  and  hand  on  the  table.  Once  he  bent  forward, 
as  if  bowing  to  us,  and  I  observed  that  his  gray  locks  swayed 
with  the  movement.  He  sat  opposite  to  us  more  than  an  hour. 
Finally  I  asked  him  if  he  would  draw  nearer  :  whereupon  figure 
and  chair  moved  toward  us,  and  our  silent  neighbor  was  in 
close  proximity.  Before  he  disappeared  he  rose  from  his  chair ; 
both  faoe  and  form  distinctly  visible." 

This  was  at  Mrs.  Fox's ;  but  the  sitting  of  November  30tl 


402  AN   APPAEITION  IS   SEEN 

was  held  in  Mr.  Livermore's  own  house.     He  tells  us  what  h« 
then  and  there  saw : 

"  iVo.  175.  Doors  locked  and  sealed.  Heavy  concussions 
and  electrical  sounds ;  a  chair  opposite  moved  into  position ; 
then  a  request  for  matches.  These  were  taken  from  my  hand, 
as  I  held  theni  at  arm's-length. 

"  After  a  time,  the  sound  of  friction,  as  in  drawing  a  match, 
was  heard  ;  and,  after  several  apparent  efforts,  a  match  ignited. 
Ey  its  light  we  saw  that  it  was  held  by  the  figure,  supposed 
that  of  Franklin,  which  appeared  in  perfection,  dressed  as  be- 
fore, only  that  the  color  of  his  coat  showed  more  perfectly. 
But  as  soon  as  the  match  went  out  the  figure  disappeared. 

"  Afterward  he  reappeared  (by  match-light)  ten  or  twelve 
times.  The  third  time  my  hat  was  on  his  head,  worn  as  by 
a  living  person;  and  then  it  was  removed  from  his  head  to 
mine.  The  last  time  he  appeared,  the  figure  of  Estelle  showed 
itself,  leaning  on  his  shoulder :  but  Miss  Fox  became  nervous, 
and  her  exclamations  (apparently)  caused  the  final  disappear- 
ance of  both  figures.     Then  there  came  the  following : 

"  *  This  is  what  we  have  long  labored  to  accomplish.  You 
can  now  say  that  you  have  seen  me  by  the  light  of  earth.  I 
will  come  again,  in  further  proof. 

.     "  *  B.  F.'  " 

This  promise  was  kept  on  December  12;  again,  in  Mr. 
Livermore's  house.     His  record  is ; 

"  ATo.  179.  At  my  own  house.  I  had  procured  a  dark  lan- 
tern, covered  with  a  cloth  casing  and  provided  with  a  valve  so 
that  I  could  throw  a  circle  of  light  two  feet  in  diameter  on  a 
wall  ten  feet  distant. 

***  I  placed  this  lantern,  lighted,  on  the  table  and  held  the 
medium's  hands.  Soon  it  rose  into  the  air  and  we  were  re- 
quested to  follow.  A  form,  carrying  the  lantern,  preceded  us. 
The  outline  of  this  spirit-form  was  distinct,  its  white  robes 
dropping  to  the  floor.  The  lantern  was  placed  on  a  bureau ; 
and  we  stood  facing  a  window  which  was  between  that  bureau 
and  a  large  mirror. 


BY   EABTH-LIGHT.  493 

"  Tlien  the  lantern  again  rose,  remaining  suspended  about 
five  feet  from  the  floor  between  the  bureau  and  the  mirror; 
and,  by  its  light,  we  discerned  the  figure  of  Franklin  seated 
Id  my  arm-chair  by  the  window,  in  front  of  a  dark  curtain. 
For  fully  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  the  light  from  the  suspended 
lantern  rested  on  his  face  and  figure,  so  that  we  had  ample 
time  to  examine  both.  At  first  the  face  seemed  as  if  of  actual 
fiesh,  tlie  hair  real,  the  eyes  bright  and  so  distinct  that  I  clearly 
saw  the  whites.  But  I  noticed  that  gi-adually  the  whole  ap^ 
pearance,  including  the  eyes,  was  deadened  by  the  earthly 
light  and  ceased  to  wear  the  aspect  of  life  with  which  the 
forms  I  had  seen  by  spiritual  light  were  replete. 

"  Several  times  I  was  requested  to  adjust  the  valve,  so  as  to 
allow  more  or  less  light ;  and  this  I  did  while  the  lantern  re- 
mained suspended,  or  held  by  invisible  power. 

**  At  the  close  of  this  sitting  we  found  written  on  a  card  : 

"  '  jMy  son :  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  world.  I  have  worked 
for  this.'  B.  F." 

Other  strange  items  come  up,  incidentally,  in  this  record. 
Here  is  one : 

Spirit-flowers, 

"iVb.  218.  ^ebrimr^  7 fl8Q2.  Sky  clear ;  atmosphere  cold. 
Doors  and  windows  secured  with  sealing-wax. 

"A  card  which  I  had  brought  with  me  was  taken  from  my 
pocket ;  a  bright  light  rose  from  the  table,  and  by  it  there  was 
shown  to  us  the  card,  to  the  centre  of  which  there  had  been 
fixed  v/hat  seemed  a  small  bunch  of  flowers.  The  light  feded 
au'l  we  were  requested  to  light  the  gas.  The  flowers  were  a 
red  rose,  with  green  leaves  and  forget-me-nots ;  very  beautiful, 
and  apparently  real. 

"  I  inspected  them  for  several  minutes, at  intervals;  turning 
off  the  gas  and  relighting  five  or  six  times.  The  flowers  still 
•emained.     Above  them  was  written  : 

"  *  J^  hwers  from  our  home  in  Heaven.^ 

"Fiii.i]ly  the  flowers  began  to  fede,  and  we  were  requested 


4:94  FLOWERS  FROM   SPIRIT-LAin). 

to  extinguish  the  gas.  When  we  did  so,  it  was  replaced  by  a 
spirit-light  under  which  the  flowers  were  again  distinctly  visi- 
ble. Then,  by  the  raps :  '  Do  not  take  your  eyes  off  thft 
flowers :  watch  them  closely.' 

"  We  did  so.  They  gradually  diminished  in  size,  as  wo 
gazed,  till  they  became  mere  specks ;  and  tlien  they  disappeared 
before  our  eyes.  When  I  lighted  the  gas,  I  found  no  trace 
of  theiix  on  the  card. 

"  Then  I  carefully  examined  the  seals  on  the  doors  and  win- 
dows, and  found  them  intact." 

Here  is  another  item  from  the  record  of  sitting  283,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1862. 

"The  hair  of  the  figure  (Estelle's)  hung  loosely  over  her 
face.  I  lifted  it,  so  as  to  see  her  more  perfectly.  Then  she 
rose  into  the  air  and  jyassed  over  my  head,  her  robe  sweeping 
across  my  head  and  face." 

And  here  is  another  of  an  incident  that  occurred  during  sit- 
ting 335,  of  December  31,  1862 : 

"  I  turned  down  the  gas  partially  only.  By  its  light  I  dis- 
tinguished a  hand,  with  white  sleeve  encircling  the  wrist.  It 
held  a  flower  which,  with  its  stem,  was  about  three  inches  long. 
I  reached  my  hand  to  take  it ;  but  at  the  moment  my  fingers 
touched  it,  there  was  a  sharp  snap,  as  from  a  powerful  electric 
spark.  Then  I  turned  on  the  full  gas.  The  hand,  floating 
about,  still  held  the  flower;  and  after  a  time,  placed  it  on  a 
sheet  of  paper  which  lay  on  the  table.  It  proved  to  be  a  pink 
rose-bud  with  green  leaves  :  to  the  touch  it  was  cold,  damp,  and 
glutinous.  Then  a  peculiar  white  flower,  resembling  a  daisy, 
was  presented.  After  a  time  they  all  melted  away.  While 
this  occurred  the  room  was  as  light  as  iayP 

Under  date  October  21,  1863  (session  365),  Mr.  Livermore 
says :  "  I  brought  with  me,  this  evening,  the  dark  lantern 
already  described;  and,  as  soon  as  the  figure  of  Estelle  ap- 
peared, I  threw  its  light  full  on  her.  She  quailed  a  little,  but 
stood  her  ground,  for  somo  time,  while  I  directed  the  light  to 


ADDrnONAi   WITNESSES.  495 

her  face  and  eyes,  afterward  to  different  parts  of  her  dress. 
Then  she  disappeared  and  I  had  the  communication :  '  It  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  I  could  hold  myself  in  form 
without  disappearing.' " 

Through  all  of  the  above  experiences  it  will  be  observed  that 
Mr.  Livermore  himself  and  the  medium  were  the  only  wit- 
nesses; and  it  will  suggest  itself  that  the  proof  would  have 
been  more  complete  had  others  been  admitted  to  the  sittings. 
This  did  occur,  during  the  latter  years  in  which  these  experi- 
ments were  made. 

Two  ADDITIONAL   WITNESSES. 

It  is  well  known  to  those  who  have  experience  in  spiritual 
researches  that  the  admission  of  an  additional  sitter  into  a 
circle  always  diminishes  the  power  for  a  time ;  retarding  and 
weakening  the  phenomena.  Sometimes  it  arrests  them  alto- 
gether ;  but,  in  many  cases,  after  a  few  sessions,  the  new- 
comer seems  gradually  to  fall  into  magnetic  relation  with  the 
circle,  and  the  phenomena  resume  their  vigor.  This  law  be- 
came manifest  when  additional  members  were  admitted  to  Mr. 
Livermore's  circle.  That  gentleman  has  recorded  ten  sittings 
at  which  Dr.  Gray  was  present,  and  eight  at  wlxich  his  (Mr. 
L.'s)  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Groute,  assisted. 

Dr.  Gray  is  well  known  in  the  city  of  New  York,  as  one 
among  its  most  esteemed  and  successful  medical  men ;  *  and  I 
doubt  if  there  be  any  one  in  the  United  States  who  has  de- 
voted more  time  and  attention  than  he  to  the  phenomena  and 
the  philosophy  of  Vital  Magnetism  and  of  SpirituaKsm. 

The  first  opportunity  he  had  of  joining  Mr.  Livermore's 
circle  was  during  sitting  No.  256,  of  June  6,  1862.  On  that 
occasion  the  figure  of  Dr.  Franklin  appeared,  but  evidently 
with  difficulty,  and  without  the  full  expression  which  he  had 

*  With  the  smgle  drawback,  as  some  men  would  esteem  it — but  I  am 
not  among  that  number — that  his  practice  is  homoeopathic. 


496  APPEAKAN0E8  OF  FRANKLIN. 

previously  ■worn.     The  hair,  however,  and  clothing  were  both 
nearly  as  usual,  and  were  handled  by  Dr.  Gray. 

Eleven  days  later,  Dr.  Gray  was  present  a  second  time.  On 
this  occasion  the  figure  of  Dr.  Franklin  showed  itself  several 
times ;  but  the  features,  at  first,  were  not  recognizable,  and,  on 
another  occasion,  a  portion  of  the  face  only  was  formed,  pre- 
senting a  deformed  and  disagreeable  aspect.  This  had  not  oc- 
curred during  any  of  Mr.  Livermore's  previous  sittings. 
Estelle  did  not  show  herself  on  either  of  these  occasions. 

The  third  time  (June  25)  the  figure  of  Franklin  appeared  in 
perfection,  and  was  recognized  by  Dr.  Gray. 

During  the  fourth  sitting,  there  was  a  message  to  the  efiect 
that  a  piece  of  the  spirit's  garment  might  be  cut  off  with 
scissors  and  examined.  Both  Dr.  Gray  and  Mr.  Livermore 
availed  themselves  of  this  permission.  For  a  time  the  texture 
was  strong,  so  that  it  might  be  pulled  without  coming  apart. 
They  had  both  time  to  examine  it  critically  before  it  melted 
away. 

Other  observations  touching  the  .  partial,  and  the  gradual, 
formation  of  apparitions,  were  made,  during  subsequent  sessions 
by  Dr.  Gray,  and  will  be  adverted  to  in  the  next  chapter. 

During  subsequent  sittings  the  figure  of  Dr.  Franklin  ap- 
peared to  Dr.  Gray  as  perfectly,  and  under  as  bright  light,  as 
it  had  ever  done  to  Mr.  Livermore.  But  Estelle  showed  her- 
self before  the  Doctor  on  a  single  occasion  only ;  during  sitting 
384,  of  November  10,  1865.  This  was  at  Mr.  Livermore's 
house.  She  appeared  with  a  white  gossamer  covering  over  her 
head  and  a  transparent  veil ;  the  lower  portion  of  the  dress 
loose  and  flowing. 
/  Ml'.  Groute  was  present  during  sitting  No.  346,  of  February 
28,  1863 ;  and  he  held  the  medium's  hands.  As  soon  as  the 
gas  was  extinguished,  Mr.  L.  was  pulled,  apparently  by  a  large 
hand,  to  the  sofa  ;  above  which  Franklin's  figure  then  appeared, 
the  light  rising  from  the  floor.  When  Mr.  Groute  saw  him 
and  became  convinced  that  it  was  the  appearance  of  a  human 
figure,  he  went  instantly  to  the  doors  to  assure  himself  that  they 


A  ilGUEE  FLOATS   IN  THE  AIS.  497 

wete  still  locked.  He  then  returned  and  handled  the  garments 
of  the  figure. 

But  he  seems  to  have  been  of  sceptical  temperament ;  for,  a 
week  later,  he  came  again,  resolved  to  make  all  safe.  He  him- 
self secured  doors  and  windows ;  he  "  had  no  idea,"  he  said, 
•^  of  being  deceived." 

This  time  the  figure  of  Franklin  appeared  much  more 
vividly  than  before.  It  held,  in  its  hand,  a  light,  as  if  that  it 
night  be  thoroughly  examined,  and  the  "unbelieving  Thomas  " 
oe  fully  satisfied.  Mr.  Groute,  who  had  been  holding  both  Mr. 
Livermore's  and  Miss  Fox's  hands  from  the  beginning  of  the 
sitting,  approached  the  figure,  saw  and  touched ;  and,  like  the 
apostle,  frankly  acknowledged  his  conviction. 

During  one  sitting  (No.  355,  of  May  1,  1863),  both  Dr. 
Gray  and  Mr.  Groute  were  present :  the  form  of  Dr.  Franklin 
was  perfect  and  was  fully  recognized  by  both  gentlemen.  Next 
evening,  Dr.  Gray  being  the  only  visitor,  the  figure  of  Dr. 
Franklin  appeared  in  the  air,  about  two  feet  above  Dr.  Gray'a 
head,  as  if  stooping  toward  the  doctor  and  looking  down  upon 
him.  He  was  clothed  in  a  dark  mantle,  and  floated,  for  some 
time,  about  the  room.  Dr.  Gray,  familiar  as  he  was  with 
spiritual  phenomena,  declared  this  manifestation  to  be  "  stu- 
pendous." 

The  last  time  the  figure  cf  Estelle  appeared,  was  during  ses- 
sion No.  388,  held  April  2,  1866.  From  that  day  forth, 
though  Mr.  Livermore  has  received,  even  up  to  the  time  I 
write,  frequent  messages  of  sympathy  and  affection,  he  has 
seen  the  well-known  form  no  more. 

The  first  thing  which  will  occur  to  any  upright  man,  having 
the  good  of  his  race  at  heart,  is  that — supposing  this  narrative 
to  be  strictly  true — the  witness  of  such  unexampled  phenomena 
— selecting,  of  course,  his  own  time,  place,  and  manner — had  no 
moral  right  to  withhold  from  the  world  the  experience  which 
God  had  permitted  him  to  enjoy.  To  whom  much  is  given  oi 
him  shall  much   be  required.     I   know  that  Mr.  Livermorfl 


198  EEMAEK8   CMT  THE 

testifies  with  that  natural  reluctance  which  men  feel  to  exposf 
themselves,  even  for  the  greatest  truth's  sake,  to  the  imputation 
of  being  either  deceivers  or  deceived.  I  know  that  he  gives 
his  testimony  under  the  solenm  conviction  that  the  most  trivial 
misstatement,  the  slightest  exaggeration,  the  least  attempt  at 
false-coloring  for  the  sake  of  efiect,  would  be  little  less  than 
blasphemy — would  be  treason  to  a  sacred  cause. 

Deceived  by  anything  resembling  imposture  it  is  impossible  to 
imagine  that  he  could  have  been.  I  have  known  Kate  Fox  for 
years :  she  is  one  of  the  most  simple-minded  and  strictly  impul- 
sive young  jDersons  I  have  ever  met :  as  incapable  of  framing, 
or  carrying  on,  any  deliberate  scheme  of  imposition  as  a  ten- 
year-old  child  is  of  administering  a  government.  Dr.  Gray,  who 
has  been  intimate  with  her  from  her  early  infancy,  writing  to  a 
friend  in  England  in  regard  to  Mr.  Livermore's  experiments,  un- 
der date  January,  1867,  says :  "  Miss  Fox,  the  medium,  deported 
herself  with  patient  integrity  of  conduct  ;  evidently  doing  all  in 
her  power,  at  all  times,  to  promote  a  fair  trial  and  just  decision 
of  each  phenomenon  as  it  occurred."  But  if  she  had  been  the 
wiliest  of  impostors  the  attendant  circumstances  would  have 
rendered  her  intentions  powerless.  The  locality  of  the  experi- 
ments was,  in  every  instance,  selected  by  Mr.  Livermore; 
often  in  his  own  house.  Doors  and  windows  were  secured 
with  sealing-wax.  The  medium's  hands  were  held  during  all 
the  most  important  manifestations.  Finally  the  experiences 
stretched  over  six  entire  years,  and  were  observed  throughout 
I    three  hundred  and  eighty-eight  recorded  sittings,  under  every 

si  _  variety  of  circumstance.     The  theory  of  persistent  imposture, 
j      in  such  a  case,  is  a  sheer  absurdity. 

There  remains  the  hypothesis  of  hallucination,  so  often  put 
foi-th  as  a  last  resort.     But,  in  this  instance,  it  is  singularly 

""■"^  out  ol  place.  Mr.  Livermore  is,  in  the  strictest  sense,  a  prac- 
tical man  of  business.  He  has  been  engaged,  during  most  of 
/his  life  and  up  to  the  present  day,  in  enterprises,  financial  and 
industrial,  of  an  extensive,  sometimes  of  a  colossal  character; 
and  in  these — this  the  world  can  appreciate— he  has  been  uni- 


EVIDENOE   OF  MB.   UVEBMOEE.  499 

formly  successfal.  During  the  very  time  of  his  spiriiual  ex- 
periments he  was  conducting  vast  operations  involving  constanj 
watchfulness  and  responsibility. 

This,  then,  is  no  dreamer,  secluded  in  his  study ;  shut  out 
from  the  world  and  feeding  on  his  own  thoughts  :  no  theorizer, 
with  a  favorite  system  to  uphold ;  and,  though  a  man  of  decided 
convictions,  not  even  an  enthusiast.  Dr.  Gray,  writing  to  an 
English  periodical  in  1861,  says  of  him  :  "Besides  his  general 
character  for  veracity  and  probity  Mr.  Livermore  is  a  compe- 
tent witness  to  the  important  facts  he  narrates,  because  he  ia 
not  in  any  degree  subject  to  the  illusions  and  hallucinations 
which  may  be  supposed  to  attach  to  the  trance  or  ecstatic  con- 
dition. I  have  known  him  from  his  very  early  manhood,  and 
am  his  medical  adviser.  He  is  less  Kable  to  be  misled  by  errors 
of  his  organs  of  sense  than  almost  any  man  of  my  large  circle 
of  patients  and  acquaintance."  - 

Add  to  this  that  the  evidence  does  not  rest  upon  Mr.  liver- 
more's  testimony  alone.  There  is  the  corroborative  experience 
of  Dr.  Gray  and  of  Mr.  Groute.  1  have  conversed  quite  recently 
(October,  1871)  with  both  these  gentlemen,  and  they  have  de- 
clared to  me,  in  the  strongest  terms,  their  unqualified  convic- 
tion touching  the  reality  of  the  phenomena  and  the  accuracy  of 
the  entire  record. 

Upon  what  theoiy  with  any  claim  to  consideration  is  this 
mass  of  testimony  to  be  set  aside  ?  Are  we  to  imagine,  on  the 
part  of  these  gentlemen,  a  base  plot  to  palm  upon  the  world,  in 
support  of  the  great  doctrine  of  immortality,  an  impious  false- 
hood ?  Did  the  sittings  not  take  place  ?  Or,  if  they  did,  was 
no  figure  seen,  touched,  examined,  month  after  month,  year 
after  year  ?  Is  the  story  of  its  appearance  and  disappearance, 
himdreds  of  times,  by  spiritual  light  and  by  the  light  of 
earth — of  its  floating  through  the  air,  of  its  thousand  actions, 
demonstrations,  messages  written  by  no  human  hand — is  all 
this  but  baseless  fable  ?  Is  the  entire  six-years'  record  a  for- 
gery? 

Each  reader  must  decide  this  question  for  himself.     I  will 


500  MB.  liveemobe's  leiteb 

not,  however,  withhold  my  opinion  that  any  one  who  should 
put  forth  such  a  hypothesis  as  ground  sufficient  for  rejecting 
these  proofs  of  man's  continuous  existence  in  another  world 
and  of  his  occasional  power  thence  to  communicate  with  earth, 
would  be  setting  a  precedent  which,  if  consistently  lollowed 
out,  would  go  to  subvert  all  reasonable  confidence  in  humaD 
testimony.* 

*  This  chapter  has  been  read  over  by  me  to  Mr.  Livennore  (October, 
1871),  and  its  accuracy  assented  to  by  Mm.  I  had  previously  received 
from  him,  with  permission  to  publish  it,  this  note  : 

Fifth  Avenue,  New  Yobk, 
July  26,  1871. 
My  Esteemed  Friend  : 

I  cannot  refuse  your  request  for  particulars  of  some  of  those  ex- 
periences which  I  have  read  to  you  from  my  Journal  of  1861-66.  In 
giving  them  I  desire,  by  way  of  averting  misconception,  to  make  a  few 
explanations. 

I  commenced  these  investigations  an  out-and-out  sceptic.  They 
were  vmdertaken  solely  with  a  view  to  satisfy  my  own  mind  ;  and  with 
no  thought,  motive,  or  desire  for  publicity. 

After  thorough  and  careful  scrutiny  I  found,  to  my  surprise,  that 
the  phenomena  were  real.  After  ten  years  of  experience,  with  ample 
opportunities  for  observation  (often  with  scientific  men),  I  arrive  sX 
these  conclusions : 

First.  That  there  exists,  in  presence  of  certain  sensitives  of  high 
nervous  organization,  a  mysterious  force,  capable  of  moving  ponderable 
bodies,  and  which  exhibits  intelligence. 

For  example  :  A  pencU  without  contact  with  human  hand,  or  any 
visible  agency,  apparently  of  its  own  volition,  writes  intelligently,  and 
a-nswers  questions  pertinently. 

Second.  That  temporary  formations,  material  in  structure  and  cog- 
nizable by  the  senses,  are  produced  by  the  same  influence ;  are  anima- 
ted by  the  same  mysterious  force,  and  pass  ofE  as  incomprehensibly  aa 
they  came. 

For  example  :  Hands  which  grasp  with  living  power ;  flowers  which 
emit  perfume  and  can  be  handled  ;  human  forms,  and  parts  of  forms; 
recognizable  faces  ;  representations  of  clothing  and  the  hke. 

Third.  That  this  force  and  the  resulting  phenomena  are  developed 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  according  to  the  physical  and  mental  con- 


TO  THE   AUTHOB.  501 

I  do  not  expect  to  see  this  ground  taken.  I  fear,  rather,  tJie 
tlioughtlessness  with  which  a  busy  world — engrossed  with  a  thou 
sand  cares,  duties,  pleasures  of  this  life — passes  by,  like  the 
Jews  listening  to  Paul  in  the  Athenian  Areopagus,  anything 
ihat  relates  to  another.  "  And  when  they  heard  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  some  mocked,  and  others  sai  i :  *  We  will 
hoar  thee  again  of  this  matter.' " 

Yet  I  know  there  are  many,  longing  for  full  satisfaction,  in 
whom  the  above  narrative — even  if  it  fail  to  work  entire  con- 
viction as  to  spirit  intercourse — will  kindle  an  earnest  desire, 
should  opportunity  offer,  to  examine  for  themselves  whether 
such  phenomena — inestimable  if  they  can  be  substantiated— 
are  a  bright  reality  or  a  perilous  delusion. 

ditions  of  the  sensitive ;  and,  in  a  measure,  by  atmospherical  condi- 
tions. 

Fourth.  Tbat  the  intelligence  which  governs  thig  force  Is  (under 
pure  conditions)  independent  of,  and  external  to,  the  minds  of  the 
sensitive  and  investigator. 

For  example  :  Questions  unknown  to  either,  sometimes  in  language 
unknown  to  either,  are  duly  answered. 

The  origin  of  these  phenomena  is  an  open  question. 

You  may  rely  on  these  records  as  being  free  from  exaggeration,  in 
?ach  and  every  particular. 

Very  sincerely  your  friend, 

C.  F.  LlYEBMOBE. 

The  Honorable 

BoBEBT  Daub  Owsr. 


CfHAPTER  y. 

WHAT  APPARITIONS  ARE  AND   HOW  FORMED. 

*  Handle  me,  and  see  ;  for  a  Bpirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bonesi,  as  ye  sei 
me  have." — Luke  xxiv.  39. 

These  words  are  ascribed  by  Luke  to  Jesus,  as  having  been 
spoken  to  his  affrighted  disciples,  when  he  appeared  in  the 
midst  of  them,  on  the  third  day  after  his  crucifixion.  They 
are  not  given  by  any  other  Evangelist ;  John,  who  touches  on 
the  subject,  merely  saying  that  Jesus  "  showed  unto  them  hia 
hands  and  his  side." 

It  so  happens  that  these  words  are  quoted  by  Ignatius,  *  one 
af  the  oldest  and  most  eminent  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  the 
lisciple  and  familiar  friend  of  the  Apostles.  But,  as  he  quotes 
them,  there  is  a  variance  from  the  telxt  in  Luke,  thus  •  "  Han- 
dle me  and  see,  for  I  am  not  a  spirit  without  body  :  "  (daimo- 
nion  asomaton.) 

I  believe  this  to  be  the  true  reading.  Facts  app«iar  to  favor 
the  opinion  that  man  is  composed — First,  of  an  earthly  or  nat- 
ural body,  visible  to  us  and  which,  subjected  immediately  after 
the  death-change  to  the  chemical  laws  which  govern  inanimate 
matter,  rapidly  decays :  Second,  as  St.  Paul  alleges,  of  a  spir- 
itual body  ;  and  this,  it  would  seem,  pervades,  during  earth- 
life,  the  entire  natural  body,  and  issues  from  it  at  the  moment 
of  death :  Third,  of  a  soul,  as  to  which  we  have  no  evidence 
that  it  ever  appears  or  exists  except  in  connection  with  the 
spiritual  body.  \     According  to  this  view,  we  must  regard  the 

*  He  is  usually  believed  to  have  been  a  disciple  of  St.  Peter,  ard  was 
Bishop  of  Antioch  about  the  year  70.  He  suffered  martyrdom  under 
Trajan,  at  an  advanced  age,  probably  about  A.D.  107. 

f  Throughout  this  work  I  have  employed  the  word  sptrit  to  mean 
a  soul  invested  in  a  spuitual  body. 


THE   SPIRITUAL   BODY.  603 

denizens  of  the  next  world  as  men  disencumbered  of  the  nat- 
ural body  :  the  soul  and  the  spiritual  body  surviving  the  death- 
change. 

It  is  an  opinion  fortified  by  all  we  hear  on  the  subject 
through  ultramundane  sources,  that  the  spiritual  body  exhibits 
a  close  resemblance,  in  form,  to  the  natural  body.  There 
seems  good  reason  why  we  should  think  of  our  departed  friends 
not  as  impalpable  shades,  but  as  real,  individual  personages, 
whom  we  shall  recognize,  at  sight,  in  another  world,  even  as 
we  recognized  them,  ere  while,  in  this :  their  forms,  perhaps, 
gradually  becoming  more  felicitous  expressions  of  a  gradually 
ennobled  individuality. 

This  spiritual  body  is  not  usually  visible  to  human  sight. 
Those  only  can  see  it  to  whom,  as  Paul  has  expressed  it,  the 
power  of  "discerning  of  spii-its"is  given.  Naturally-gifted 
seers  undoubtedly  see  the  Spirit ;  that  is,  the  spiritual  body 
animated  by  a  living  soul.  Nor  should  this  surprise  us. 
"  Men  have  no  right,"  says  John  Stuart  Mill,  **  to  mistake  the 
limit  of  their  own  faculties  for  an"  inherent  limitation  of  the 
possible  modes  of  existence  in  the  universe." 

But  as  this  gift  of  spirit-discernment  is  rare,  and  as  the 
proof  it  furnishes  can  bring  direct  conviction  only  to  the  seer 
himself,  it  is  evident  that  if  the  outside  world  is  to  obtain  sim- 
ilar conviction,  there  must  be  presented  to  our  sight  something 
more  material  than  the  celestial  body  which  appertains  to  our 
next  phase  of  being. 

The  evidence  I  have  adduced  goes  to  show  that  a  spirit  may 
— under  certain  conditions  and  aided,  probably,  by  other 
spirits — fabricate  an  ephemeral  eidolon,  resembling  the  body  it 
had  while  on  earth;  but  evanescent,  especially  under  earth- 
light  ;  so  that  the  poet's  line, 

*'  It  faded  at  the  crowing  of  the  cock," 

is  in  strict  accordance  with  the  character  of  the  actual  phe- 
nomenon. 

Those  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  witness  this  prod- 


504  A  TEMPORARY  INDUEMENT. 

act  of  spiritual  art  under  its  various  phases,  allege  that 
it  may  sometimes,  under  favorable  conditions,  be  marvellously 
perfect  and  even  transcendently  beautiful.  Dr.  Gray,  one 
of  the  most  accurate  and  dispassionate  of  observers,  told  me 
that  on  one  of  the  occasions,  already  referred  to,  when  the 
image  of  Franklin  presented  itself,  he  looked  steadily  in  the 
eyes  of  the  figure  and  noticed  their  life-like  and  expressive  char- 
acter ;  even  that  their  expression  changed  in  accordance  with 
what  was  passing  at  the  time.  "  The  living  glance  of  these 
eyes,"  he  said  to  me,  "  wrought  in  me  a  thorough  conviction 
that  it  was  the  old  philosopher  himself,  and  no  other,  who  sat 
in  the  opposite  chair." 

By  what  process  this  temporary  induement  (if  it  be  correct  to 
regard  it  as  induement)  is  effected,  we  certainly  do  not  know 
at  this  time  ;  and  perhaps  we  never  shall,  until  we  learn  it,  on 
the  other  side,  from  the  spiritual  artists  themselves.  All  that 
one  seems  justified  in  surmising  is  that  there  are  invisible  exu- 
dations from  the  human  organization — more  or  less  from  all 
persons,  but  especially  from  the  bodies  of  spiritual  sensitives  * — 

*  Like  Leah  and  Kate  Fox,  D.  Dunglas  Home  and  other  favored 
*'  mediums; "  in  whose  presence  these  formations  occasionally  appear. 
There  are  facts  which  seem  to  indicate  that  there  exists  in  the  physical 
systems  of  some  so-called  "mediums,"  a  superfluity  of  phosphorus; 
and  this  may  be  one  of  the  principal  ingredients.  Dr.  Wilson,  of  New 
York,  whom  I  have  already  mentioned,  told  me  that  he  had  been  one 
of  a  committee  of  six  persons  v/ho,  during  a  carefully-conducted  experi- 
ment where  the  strictest  precautions  against  deception  were  taken, 
obtained  from  the  tips  of  the  fingers  of  a  well-known  medium,  phos- 
phorus, slightly  varying  from  the  'phosphorus  of  commerce.  He 
showed  me  a  smaU.  quantity  of  this  which  he  had  preserved,  as  evi- 
dence of  the  result. 

There  appear  to  be  exceptions,  however,  to  the  rule  that  apparitions 
and  other  spiritual  phenomena  can  be  manifested  only  when  a  "  medi- 
una  "  is  present.  I  have  already  stated  that  endemical,  as  well  as  per- 
sonal, influences  seem  occasionally  to  make  possible  such  phenomena, 
persistent  through  several  generations,  in  certain  localities ;  usually  in 
old  houses  which  thereby  acquire  the  character  of  being  haunted.  It 
may  be  said,  in  a  general  way,  that  we  know  very  little  touching  the 
precise  conditions  under  which  such  occurrences  take  place. 


8PIBITUAL   SOULPTUKE.  505 

which  spirits  can  condense,  or  otherwise  modify,  so  as  to  pro- 
duce not  only  what  to  the  senses  of  liuman  beings  is  a  visible 
and-  tangible  form,  but  also  substances  resembling  earthly  cloth- 
ing and  other  inanimate  objects.  It  appears  that  they  can 
thus  produce  also  what  we  might  call  sculptured  representations 
of  portions  of  the  human  figure,  as  of  hands  and  [)art3  of  hands, 
and  the  like.  Let  us  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the  fact  of 
a  phenomenon  is  independent  of  its  explanation. 

I  have  myself  had  one  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  last- 
mentioned  phenomenon. 

What  appeased  as  detached  portions  of  a  Human  Figure 

distinctly  seen. 

On  the  evening  of  July  27,  1861,  T  was  at  Mr.  Underhill's 
house.  Mrs.  Underhill  proposed  that,  instead  of  sitting  there, 
we  should  adjourn  to  her  mother's  residence,  No.  66  West  46th 
street,  where  we  should  probably  be  able  to  add  her  sister  Kate 
to  the  circle.     We  did  so. 

Preparations  were  made  to  sit  in  the  lower  parlor ;  but  as  I 
observed  that  there  were  no  keys  in  the  doors,  1  proposed  to 
sit  in  the  upper  parlor,  which  was  at  once  assented  to ;  and  w€ 
moved  thither. 

By  the  raps,  I  was  requested  to  secure  the  doors,  which  i 
did,  putting  the  keys  in  my  pocket.  I  also  carefully  examined 
the  whole  room,  which  had  no  press  or  closet.  Then  we  were 
bidden  to  put  out  the  gas.  Within  a  few  minutes  aftei-ward 
there  were  three  or  four  most  violent  raps,  as  by  a  heavy  blud- 
geon, on  the  table ;  then  a  quiet  interval  of  some  fifteen  min- 
utes ;  after  which  there  suddenly  appeared,  between  Kate  and 
Mrs.  Underhill,  the  figure  of  an  arm  and  shoulder.  The  hand 
was  not  distinct.  The  arm  was  well-shaped  and  seemed  that  of 
a  woman  of  medium  size ;  the  elbow  bent  and  the  lower  arm 
turned  upward.  Behind  it  was  a  light,  but  I  could  distinguish 
no  central  point  whence  this  light  emanated,  as  it  might  from 
A  lamp  or  candle.  The  arm  sliowed  quite  distinctly,  from 
22 


506  EXAMPLES  or 

the  wrist  to  the  shoulder,  against  this  light : — distinctly,  but 
not  in  sharp  outline ;  the  outlines  being  softened  off,  as  in  a 
mezzotint  engraving.  There  depended,  from  the  arm,  drapery, 
hanging  down  some  five  or  six  inches ;  it  was  gauze-like  and 
semi-transparent.  This  arm  and  shoulder  approached,  moving 
just  above  the  table  and  passing  Mrs.  Underhill  in  front,  until 
it  came  within  seven  or  eight  inches  of  me ;  the  drapery  wav- 
ing to  and  fro,  with  the  motion  of  the  arm. 

There  it  remained  for  about  a  minute ;  then  disappeared  and 
reappeared,  at  intervals  of  some  four  or  five  minutes,  three 
several  times ;  so  that  I  could  deliberately  observe  it  and  make 
sure  of  my  observations ;  for  the  light,  whencesoever  its  origin, 
moved  with  the  figure  ;  appearing  and  disappearing  coinci- 
dently  \vith  it.  I  saw  no  head  or  features  above  the  arm  :  but 
a<ljoining  it,  dimly  indicated,  what  seemed  a  small  portion  of  a 
human  form. 

After  a  time  a  luminous  appearance,  more  bright  than  the 
first,  came  over  the  table  and  stopped  not  more  than  four  or 
five  inches  from  my  face.  It  resembled  a  cylinder,  illuminated 
from  within;  its  length  being  about  five  or  six  inches  and  its 
apparent  calibre  about  one  inch.  Over  it  was  something 
hanging  in  dark  streaks.  By  the  raps  was  spelled  out  "  Hair." 
I  asked  that  it  might  touch  me :  whereupon  it  was  waved  for- 
ward and  touched  my  forehead  with  unmistakable  distinctness : 
the  touch  resembling  that  of  human  hair.  After  a  few  minutes 
it  disappeared. 

The  other  sitters  described  these  appearances  as  seen  by 
them  precisely  as  they  were  seen  by  me. 

As  soon  as  the  sitting  closed  I  examined  both  doors  and 
found  them  locked.  The  room  in  which  we  sat,  be  it  borne  in 
mind,  was  selected  by  myself. 

Some  years  after  the  above,  *  Dr.  Gray,  speaking  of  the 
sittings  he  had  with  Mr.  Livermore,  told  me  that,  at  one  of 

♦  May  5, 1868. 


SPIETTUAL   BCULPTHRE.  507 

these,  there  was  laid  on  the  table  before  them  a  cylinder  about 
the  same  size  as  that  I  saw :  but,  more  fortunate  than  I,  they 
had  an  opportunity  of  handling  it.  It  seemed.  Dr.  Gray  said, 
to  be  of  rock  crystal,  or  some  similar  hard,  perfectly  transparent 
material,  and  to  be  filled  with  some  incandescent  fluid,  which 
was  only  faintly  glowing  when  at  rest ;  but  when  the  cylindei 
was  agitated  the  light  shone  out  brightly.  During  the  tim<i 
they  saw  and  examined  it,  there  was  no  other  light  in  the  room 
except  that  which  it  emitted.  By  the  raps  it  was  stated  that 
the  cylinder  was  the  light-vehicle  employed  by  the  attendant 
spirits  to  illuminate  their  ephemeral  productions ;  being,  itself, 
as  ephemeral  as  the  rest. 

On  the  same  occasion  Dr.  Gray  stated  to  me  that  he  saw  a 
detached  hand  appear  and  disappear  four  or  five  times.  At 
first  it  was  of  a  dark-bronze  color ;  but  each  time  it  became 
lighter  in  color,  until,  on  its  final  exhibition,  it  was  as  fair  as 
any  Caucasian  hand. 

At  another  time  his  spectacles,  which  he  had  on  at  the 
time,  were  caiTied  off"  and  soon  after  brought  back.  He  asked 
to  be  shown  how  this  was  done:  whereupon  there  appeared 
two  imperfect  fingers,  almost  resembling  talons,  attached  to  a 
small  strip  of  hand  reaching  into  the  darkness.  These  appeared 
to  be  animate,  or  at  least  obedient  to  some  will :  for,  like  liv- 
iDg  tongs,  they  picked  up  and  bore  away  the  spectacles  ;  then, 
after  a  minute  or  two,  replaced  them.  * 

To  a  question  asked  by  Dr.  Gray  why  the  whole  hand  was 
usually  shown  instead  of  two  detached  fingers,  the  reply,  by 
raps,  was  that  most  persons  would  be  alarmed  or  disgusted  at 
sight  of  such  an  amorphous  formation. 

At  another  time  a  mass  of  what  seemed  flesh  was  laid  on 
Dr.  Gray's  naked  foot  which  he  had  exfxjsed  for  the  purpose. 
Left  there,  at  his  request,  for  some  time,  it  became  intolerably 
hot;  and  he  supposes  it  would  ultimately  have  burned  him. 
This  suggests  that  phosphorus  may  have  been  one  of  the  ingre« 

*  Session  S43.    Mr.  Livermoie  found  the  fingers  solid  to  the  touch. 


\ 


508  A  MISSING  EYE  APPEARS. 

dients  employed :  and  perhaps  it  affords  a  clue  to  the  sfcoriea 
of  a  spectre  grasping  the  wrist  or  hand  of  some  terrified  wretch, 
and  leaving  thereon  the  marks  of  burning  fingers. 

Dr.  Gray  related  to  me  a  still  more  interesting  observation. 
On  one  of  the  last  occasions  that  the  figure  of  Franklin  pre- 
sented itself,  the  face  appeared,  at  first,  imperfectly  formed: 
showing  one  eye  only :  for,  in  place  of  the  other  eye  and  part 
of  the  cheek,  there  was  a  dark  cavity  which  looked  hideous 
enough.  Kate  Fox  caught  sight  of  it  and  screamed  out  in 
mortal  terror,  causing  the  temporary  extinguishment  of  the 
light  under  which  the  figure  appeared. 

"  Silly  child,"  exclaimed  the  Doctor,  seizing  her  hands ; 
*'  don't  you  see  you  are  interrupting  one  of  the  most  interesting 
experiments  in  the  world — the  gradual  formation  of  an  appari- 
tion?" 

This  philosophical  view  of  the  case  quieted,  by  degrees, 
Kate's  excited  nerves  and  dispelled  her  superstitious  terrors :  so 
that  when,  after  less  than  five  minutes'  interval,  the  face  ol 
the  sage  again  appeared,  every  feature  perfect  and  the  expression 
that  of  bright,  calm  benignity,  she  herself  was  the  first  to 
exclaim :  **  How  beautiful !  " 

This  was  during  one  of  the  last  sittings  at  which  Dr.  Gray 
assisted.  On  several  of  the  earliest  occasions,  as  the  Doctor 
informed  me,  the  face,  though  distinctly  marked,  seemed  some- 
times shrivelled  and  as  if  made  of  dough,  at  other  times  it  re- 
sembled the  face  of  a  corpse. 

Other  details  *  and  minor  incidents  I  omit ;  seeing  that  all 
we  yet  know  furnishes  no  sufficient  basis  on  which  to  found 

*  Both  Dr.  Gray  and  Mr.  Livermore  informed  me  that,  on  several 
occasions  when  apparitions  presented  themselves — especially  when 
Estelle  appeared — ^the  room  was  suddenly  pervaded  by  a  delicious  per- 
fume. This  seemed  to  be  emitted  from  the  person  of  the  appearing 
figure. 

When  the  Church  of  Rome  speaks  of  some  of  its  saixits  "  dying  ia  the 
odor  of  sanctity,"  the  expression  may  possibly  refer  to  an  actual  phe- 
nomenon. 


IMPOETANCE   OF   SPIBITUAL   EmOLA.  509 

KBV  distinct  theory  touching  the  precise  character  and  foiTna- 
tion-process  of  apparitions. 

I  do  not  doubt  that,  even  in  this  world,  we  shall,  some  day, 
know  much  more  about  the  matter.*  These  eidola  appear  to 
be  gradually  becoming  more  common;  and  it  may  enter  into 
God's  purpose  that,  in  the  future  of  our  world,  such  a  phenom- 
enon shall  be  the  foundation  of  a  universal  belief  in  immor- 
tality. 

I  consider  this  the  more  probable  because  it  is  apparent  that 
moral  and  spiritual  progress  has  not,  in  modern  times,  kept 
pace  with  intellectual  and  material.  But  ability,  mental  or 
physical,  is  a  doubtful  good,  if  there  lack  an  ethical  and  relig- 
ious element  to  give  beneficent  direction  to  it. 

Nor  do  I  see  how  such  a  civilizing  element  can  manifest  it- 
self in  full  power — can  prevail  against  error  and  vice,  can 
dominate  our  race — without  the  aid — not  of  a  vague  beliel 
adopted  from  written  creeds — but  of  a  living,  abiding,  fervent 
conviction  (such  as  sense-evidence  brings  home),  that  there  is 
a  better  world  where  all  earthly  thoughts  and  deeds,  how 
secretly-concealed  soever  here,  shall  unfailingly  bear  their  ap- 
propriate fruit :  ill-feeling,  ill-doing  infallibly  entailing  sorrow 
and  suffering ;  well-feeling  and  well-doing  as  inevitably  bring- 
ing about  an  after-life  of  satisfying  hjappiness,  such  as  it  is  not 
given  to  us  here  to  conceive. 

*  I  have  not  any  doubt  that  some  of  the  apparitions  seen  by  Mr. 
Livermore — casting,  as  they  did,  a  shadow  on  the  wall  and  a  reflection 
in  a  mirror — might,  by  proper  appliances,  have  been  photographed ; 
and  I  regret  much  that  it  did  not  occur  to  Mr.  L.  to  attempt  this. 

How  satisfactory  would  it  have  been,  in  giving  his  narrative,  to  re« 
produce  an  actual  photograph  of  Estelle,  in  all  her  spiritual  beauty  1 


BOOK  VI. 


SPIEITUAL  GIFTS  OF  THE  FIRST  CENTURY  APPEARING  IN 
OUR  OWN  TIMES. 

"  Now  there  axe  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  spirit," — 1  CoriN' 
rniAKS  sdi.  4. 


CHAPTER  L 


CURES    BY    SPIRITUAL  AGENCY. 


— '*  to  another  faith  by  the  same  spirit ;  to  another  the  gift  of  healing 
by  the  same  spirit."—!  Corinthians  xii.  9. 

•  The  facts  which  go  to  attest  the  substantial  coincidence  be- 
tween the  signs  and  wonders  related  in  the  Gospels,  and  the 
spiritual  epiphanies  of  the  present  day,  merit  a  volume  :  but  I 
can  make  room  here  in  favor  of  that  branch  of  the  subject,  foi 
two  brief  chapters  only. 

Whenever  this  topic  is  fully  treated,  the  results,  to  Chris- 
tianity, will  be  beyond  calculation.  Now,  after  eighteen  hundred 
years,  we  cannot  conceive  any  evidence  in  proof  of  the  Gospel 
narrative  so  strong  as  the  fact  (if  fact  it  be),  that  wonderful 
works  and  spiritual  gifts  of  similar  character  to  those  men- 
ti.ned  in  the  New  Testament  come  to  light  among  us  now. 
If  they  do  occur  now,  it  is  not  conceivable  that  they  v/ere 
imagined,  or  invented,  by  the  Evangelists  and  by  Paul.  If  they 
do  appear  to-day  and  if  we  still  set  down  the  Gospel  narrative 
as  fable,  I  know  not  what  fact,  two  thousand  years  old,  can  be 
established  by  any  historical  evidence  whatever.  Csesar  may 
not  have  lived  in  Rome,  nor  died  in  the  senate  chamber.     Soc- 


chkist'b  mission,  511 

rates  may  never  have  spent  his  life  in  teaching  philosophy,  nor 
lost  it  in  defence  of  the  truths  he  uttered. 

Of  the  various  spiritual  powers  exercised  by  Christ,  that  of 
healing  was  the  chief.  His  mission,  according  to  his  own  view 
of  it,  was  to  bring  health  to  the  sick  and  glad  tidings  to  the 
poor.  When  John  the  Baptist  sent,  asking :  "  Art  thou  he 
that  should  come,  or  look  we  for  another  ?  "  Jesus,  for  answer, 
sent  him  word :  "  The  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame 
walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are 
raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them."  *  So 
also  of  his  disciples. 

This  power  has  been  cjaimed  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  ex- 
ercised by  her  holy  men  and  women,  and,  after  their  death,  by 
their  relics.  Among  what  may  be  called  a  dissenting  sect  of 
that  Church — the  Jansenists — it  appeared,  at  one  time,  in  won- 
derful phase,  f 

We  have  overwhelming  proof  at  the  present  day  that  it  is 
not  confined  to  the  Roman  Church.  The  curative  powers  of 
what  has  been  called  vital  magnetism  are  admitted  by  all,  ex- 
cept the  hopelessly  prejudiced.  This  phase  of  the  healing 
power  has  shown  itself  chiefly  in  France  ;  sometimes  on  a  great 
scale.  The  Marquis  de  Guibert,  a  benevolent  French  noble, 
established,  on  his  estate  of  Fontchateau,  in  the  Commune  of 
Tarascon,  an  hospital  in  which,  during  the  six  years  from  1834 
to  1840,  upward  of  three  thousand  three  hundred  patients  were 
treated  by  magnetic  agency,  gratuitously.  The  Marquis,  a 
powerful  magnetizer,  operated  personally;  and  has  given  the 


*  Matthew  xi.  5. 

f  In  1656,  at  Port  Royal.  See  FootfaUs^  p.  83.  And  again,  in  far 
more  marvellous  guise,  in  1731  and  for  years  thereafter,  at  the  tomb  of 
the  AbbG  Paris.  Those  who  are  curious  in  such  matters,  will  find 
details  in  a  paper  contributed  by  me  to  the  Atlantic  MbntMy,  entitled : 
Cotwid-sionists  of  St  Medard,  and  published  in  the  nujxibers  for  Febru- 
ary and  March,  1864.     See  also  FootfaUs,  pp.  85-87. 


512 


THE  IJIAGNETIO  HOSPITAI. 


detailed  results  in  an  elaborate  report,  in  whicli  each  case,  witli 
its  separate  malady,  is  set  forth. 

Of  the  patients  treated  by  him  more  than  one  half  were 
thrown  into  somnambulic  sleep,  while  upward  of  five  hundred 
were  wholly  impassive  to  magnetic  influence.  Nearly  three* 
fifths  (1,948)  left  the  hospital  cured  /  and  three  hundred  and 
seventy-five  more  were  partially  relieved.* 

I  do  not  allege  that  these  are  cures  by  spiritual  agency  ;  but 
they  were  wrought  by  an  influence  with  which  we  are  little 
acquainted  ;  and  which,  in  past  ages,  has  been  again  and  again 
mistaken  for  miraculous.  It  is  an  open  question,  also,  whether 
a  magnetizer,  employing  an  occult  and  imponderable  agent,  and 

*  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  report  itself.  But  its  results  are 
summed  up  in  a  French  work,  Physiologie^  Mededne  et  MetapJiydque  du 
Magaetisme^^''  by  Dr.  Charpignon,  member  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of 
Paris,  and  of  several  learned  societies.  He  gives  (at  p.  274)  the  follow- 
ing table : 


Men 

Total  Patients. 
1,194 
2,121 

Impassive. 
180 
324 

Somnambules. 

424 
1,259 

Cured. 

663 

Women 

1,285 

Totals 

3,315 

504 

1,683 

1,948 

Here  are  some  interesting  results.     We  find — 

That  of  the  women  more  than  two-thirds  were  cured,  and  of  the  men 
more  than  one-half  (0.55). 

That  of  the  women  nearly  three-fifths  were  affected  by  somnambulio 
iaflaence,  and  of  the  men  little  more  than  a  third. 

That  nearly  an  equal  proportion  of  both  sexes — a  little  more  than 
ons-sixth — were  wholly  impassive  ;  nearly  five-sixths  being  more  or  less 
susceptible. 

CharpigTion  does  not  give  a  detailed  list  of  the  maladies ;  but  he 
mentions  that  there  were  fourteen  cases  of  contraction  of  the  limbs,  of 
which  seven  were  cured. 

He  states,  on  the  authority  of  a  medical  friend  of  his  (Dr.  Despioe, 
who  visited  the  hospital  at  Fontchateau),  that  so  great  were  the  Mar- 
quis's powers  of  magnetization,  that  he  could  produce,  in  a  few  seconds, 
effects  which  he  (Dr,  Despiue)  and  others  required  half  an  hour,  oi 
more,  to  obtain. 


OF  THE  MAEQUIS  DE  GUIBEET.  613 

devoting  himself,  like  the  Marquis  de  Guibert,  to  the  relief  ol 
human  suffering,  does  not  receive  spiritual  aid.  I  think  the 
weight  of  evidence  is  in  favor  of  the  theory  that  he  often  does. 
I  am  fortunate,  however,  in  being  able  to  furnish  two  narra- 
tives, attested  by  name,  place,  and  date,  in  which  I  think  it  can- 
not rationally  be  denied  that  the  curative  agency  was  unmistak- 
ably spiritual.  The  first  I  obtained  in  this  countiy,  the  second 
in  Europe. 

Paralysis  of  the  Motor  Nerve. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1858,  a  lady,  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Davis,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  was  residing  at  her  home 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  that  city. 

It  happened,  one  morning,  when  a  large  and  powerful  horse 
was  standing  harnessed  in  front  of  the  house,  that  a  servant, 
passing  carelessly  close  to  the  animal  with  a  child's  carriage  in 
which  was  an  infant  daughter  of  Mrs.  Davis,  accidentally  drop- 
ped the  tongue  of  the  carriage  close  to  the  horse's  heels.  Mrs. 
Davis,  seeing  the  danger  of  her  child,  rushed  to  the  horse's 
head  and,  seizing  him  suddenly  by  the  bridle  with  her  right 
hand,  the  animal  reared  violently  so  as  almost  to  lift  her  from 
her  feet.  She  succeeded,  however,  in  leading  him  off  from  her 
child,  which  thus  escaped  unhurt. 

At  the  moment  she  experienced  no  pain :  afterward  she  went 
about  her  usual  occupations,  but  felt  faint  and  languid  through- 
out the  day.  About  ten  o'clock  p.m.,  sitting  down  to  supper, 
she  first  noticed  a  pain  in  her  elbow,  and  then,  when  she  at- 
tempted to  use  her  right  hand,  was  unable  to  do  so :  she  found 
it  impossible  to  close  three  of  the  fingers  of  that  hand ;  the  in- 
dex finger  alone  obeying  th6  impulse  of  her  will.  After  a  time 
the  pain  increased  and  extended  above  the  elbow. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  the  right  leg  also  became  affected, 
the  pain  extending  to  the  hip.  In  the  morning  she  discovered 
that  she  could  not,  by  any  effort  of  the  will,  move  either  the 
right  arm  or  the  right  leg. 

The  physicians  declared  it  to  be  a  case  of  paralysis  of  th« 
22* 


514  A    CASE   OF   PARALYSIS 

motor  nerve,  caused  chiefly  by  sudden  excitement.  For  a  long 
time  it  fesisted  all  remedies.  During  seven  weeks  the  paralysis 
continued  unabated.  In  all  that  time  she  never  used  hand  or 
.arm :  -when  she  walked  she  had  to  drag  the  right  leg  after  her 
The  leg,  too,  became  cold  even  to  the  hip,  and  all  efforts  ta 
warm  it  were  ineffectual. 

In  the  month  of  April  she  experienced  slight  relief  by  the 
frequent  use  of  electricity ;  but  only  so  far  that,  by  a  special 
effort  of  the  will  she  could  partially  move  her  hand  and  arm. 
Habitually  she  rested  the  elbow  on  her  hip,  or,  when  sitting  in 
an  arm-chair,  raised  it  with  the  other  hand  so  as  to  rest  it  on  the 
chair-arm.  Nor  did  she  ever,  until  the  incident  about  to  be 
related,  regain  the  power  of  straightening  either  leg  or  arm.  Nor 
was  the  warmth  of  the  leg  at  all  restored:  and  when  she 
walked  she  still  had  to  drag  it  after  her  along  the  ground. 

This  continued,  without  alteration  or  improvement,  until  the 
month  of  July,  1858  :  and  by  this  time  she  had  become  com- 
pletely disheartened.  Life  seemed  to  her  no  longer  worth  hav- 
ing; a  cripple  for  life;  a  burden  to  her  friends;  useless  to  her 
family.    She  gave  way  to  tears  and  despondency. 

In  the  early  part  of  July  a  friend,  Mrs.  J ,  wife  of  a  gen- 
tleman well-known  in  New  York  literary  circles,  and  who  had 
been  staying  with  Mrs.  Davis,  proposed  to  close  her  visit  and 
return  to  that  city.  Suddenly  Mrs.  Davis  experienced  an  im- 
pulse for  which  she  could  not  at  all  account.  It  was  an  urgent 
desire  to  go  to  New  York  and  visit  Mrs.  Underhill*  (Leah  Fox), 
with  whom  she  was  not  acquainted,  having  merely  heard  of  her 

through  Mrs.  J .     She  said  to  that  lady  that  if  she  would 

remain  with  her  a  day  longer,  she  (Mrs.  Davis)  would  accom- 
pany her  to  New  York  and  visit  Mrs.  Underhill  in  hope  of 

relief.     Mrs.  J consenting,  they  left   Providence  on   the 

evening  of  July  3,  notwithstanding  the  doubts  expressed  by  Mr. 
Davis  whether  his  wife  would  be  able  to  endure  the  journey ; 


*  Then  Mrs.  Brown.     Mr.  Brown  died  not  long  after ;  and  eventu- 
ally, Mr.  Underhill  married  hia  widow. 


BROUGHT   TO  LEAH   FOX.  615 

reached  New  York  next  morning,  and  proceeded  at  once  to 
j\Irs.  Underhill's. 

Mrs.  Davis  was  so  much  exhausted  on  her  arrival,  that  she 

k  3pt  her  bed  until  the  afternoon ;  when  she,  Mrs.  J ,  and 

Airs.  Underbill  met  in  the  parlor. 

Loud  raps  being  heard,  it  was  proposed  to  sit  down  at  the 
C(mtre-table.  Before  doing  so,  however,  Mrs.  Underbill  re- 
quested Mrs.  Davis,  for  her  own  satisfaction,  to  examine  the 
room  and  its  furniture.  Mrs.  Davis,  from  motives  of  delicacy, 
at  first  declined ;  but  as  Mrs.  Underbill  urged  her  request,  Mrs. 
D.  finally  made  the  examination  in  a  thorough  manner,  dis- 
covered nothing  under  the  tables  or  elsewhere  to  excite  suspi- 
cion, and  convinced  herself  that  there  was  no  one  in  the  room. 
It  being  but  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  there  was  bright 
day-light. 

Soon  after  the  ladies  sat  down,  all  their  hands  being  on  the 
table,  Mrs.  Davis  felt  the  ankle  of  her  right  leg  seized  as  by  the 
firm  grasp  of  a  human  hand,  the  foot  raised  and  the  heel  placed 
in  what  seemed  another  hand.*  The  touch  of  the  fingers  and 
thumb  was  unmistakably  distinct,  and  indicated  that  it  was  a 
right  hand  which  grasped  the  ankle,  while  a  left  hand  received 
the  heel.  After  a  time  the  hand  which  had  seized  the  ankle 
released  its  grasp,  and  Mrs.  Davis  felt  it  make  passes  down  the 
leg.  These  passes  were  continued  about  ten  minutes.  Mrs. 
Davis  felt  a  sensation  as  of  the  circulation  pervading  the 
paralyzed  limb ;  and  the  natural  warmth,  of  which  it  had  been 
for  months  deprived,  gradually  returned.  At  the  expiration  of 
the  ten  minutes,  there  was  spelled  out  by  raps:  "Rise  and 
walk/' 

Mrs.  Davis  arose  and  found,  with  an  amazement  which  she 
said  no  words  could  describe,  that  she  could  walk  as  well  as  she 
ever  did  in  her  life.  She  paced  up  and  down  the  room,  to  as- 
Bure  herself  that  it  was  a  reality :  the  pain,  the  paralysis  waa 


*  The  allegation,  by  rapping,  was,  that  the  agency  was  tihat  of  a  de- 
ceased brother  of  Mrs.  Davis. 


516  THE  CUBE, 

gone;  she  could  use  the  hitherto  disabled  leg  as  freely  as  th« 
other.  After  more  than  four  months  of  suffering  and  of  de- 
crepitude, she  found  the  natural  warmth  and  vigor  of  the 
limb  suddenly  and  (as  it  would  be  commonly  phrased)  miracu- 
louslj^  restored. 

This  terminated  the  sitting  for  the  time :  the  arm  still  re- 
maining paralyzed  as  before.  But  late  in  the  evening,  after  the 
departure  of  several  visitors,  the  ladies  sat  down  again.  This 
time,  by  rapping,  a  request  was  made  to  darken  the  room.  After 
a  brief  delay  the  arm  was  manipulated  as  the  leg  had  been,  but 
with  more  force,  as  if  rubbed  downward  from  the  shoulder  by 
a  smooth  and  somewhat  elastic  piece  of  metal,  like  the  steel 
busk  sometimes  used  in  ladies'  stays.  After  this  had  been  con- 
tinued for  some  time,  what  seemed  to  the  touch  a  steel  busk 
was  laid  in  Mrs.  Davis'  right  hand  ;  and,  by  raps,  a  request  was 
spelled  out  to  close  the  fingers  upon  it.  This  she  found  herself 
able  to  do  with  a  firm  grasp.  Then  the  busk  was  drawn  forcibly 
from  her  hand. 

From  that  time  forth  she  recovered  the  use  of  her  arm  as 
completely  as  she  had  that  of  her  leg.  Nor  has  she  had  pain 
or  any  return  of  paralysis,  or  weakness,  or  loss  of  temperature, 
in  either  limb,  from  that  day  to  the  present  time ;  *  that  is, 
during  four  years. 

In  communicating  the  above  to  me,  as  Mi-s.  Davis  did,  in 
presence  of  the  same  friend  who  had  accompanied  her  to  Mrs. 
Underbill's,  Mrs.  Davis  kindly  gave  me  permission  to  use  her 
name,  f 

The  next  case  is  of  a  still  more  remarkable  character. 


*  Written  July,  1862,  when  this  narrative  was  communicated  to  me. 

f  The  above  was  related  to  me  July  20,  1863,  by  Mrs.  Davis  herself. 
I  wrote  it  out  next  day  ;  and  submitted  the  manuscript  on  the  24th  of 

July  to  Mrs.  Davis,  in  presence  of  Mrs.  J ,  for  authentication.     It 

was  assented  to  by  both  ladies  as  correct. 


AN  AFFLICTED  PATIENT.  617 


The  Instantaneous  Cure. 


It  occurred  on  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1858,  at  Passy,  near 
Paris,  in  the  parlor  of  Monsieur  B ,  a  gentleman  who  for- 
merly occupied  a  position  of  rank  in  the  household  of  Louifl 
PhiKppe. 

The  lady  who  was  the  subject  of  it,  Mrs.  Emma  Kyd,  is  the 
wife  of  Mr.  A.  Kyd,  a  gentleman  of  independent  fortune,  son 
of  the  late  General  Kyd,  of  the  Biitish  Army ;  and  is  the 
mother  of  several  grown-up  children.  The  family  were  then 
residing  in  Paris. 

Mrs.  Kyd  had  been,  for  more  than  half  her  life,  a  grievous 
sufferer.  For  twenty-five  years  she  had  had  a  disease  of  the 
heart,  gradually  increasing  in  violence.  At  the  time  of  this 
narrative  it  had  reached  such  a  point  as  to  cause,  every  day  of 
her  life,  severe  pain,  and  entirely  to  deprive  her  of  anything 
like  a  quiet  night's  sleep.  She  could  never  rest  except  on  the 
right  side ;  the  bedclothes  were  sensibly  moved  by  the  power- 
ful beating  of  the  heart;  and  if  she  sought  relief  by  sitting  up 
in  an  arm-chair,  she  was  frequently  unable  to  rest  against  the 
back  of  it,  so  violent  were  the  palpitations.  She  walked  with 
great  difficulty,  and  only  slowly  and  for  a  short  distance ;  and 
had  frequently  to  be  carried  upstairs.  Though  fond  of  singing, 
she  had  been  compelled  wholly  to  abandon  it. 

This,  however,  was  only  one  of  several  diseases  under  which 
Mrs.  Kyd  was  suffering.  She  had  chronic  diarrhoea,  of  six  years' 
standing ;  and  this  had  proceeded  so  far,  that  small  portions  of 
stale  bread,  and  of  roast  meat  and  rice,  with  occasionally  a 
little  tea,  constituted  the  entire  range  of  her  diet.  Even  with 
such  restriction,  she  was  compelled  daily  to  resort  to  powerful 
medicine :  nor  could  she  safely  travel  for  an  hour,  or  make  a 
visit  to  a  friend,  without  first  taking  a  preparatory  dose.  The 
disease  frequently  produced  violent  cramps  and  spasms.  In  ad 
dition  she  was  afflicted  with  a  falling  of  the  womb  of  an  aggra- 
vated character  ;  together  with  a  disease  of  the  bladder,  ac^oai 


518  DEBATE    WITH    A    PSYCOGRiSJ»H, 

panied  by  obstruction  enduring  for  many  years,  and  producing 
severe  pain.  For  this  latter  complaint  she  had  consulted  t)r. 
Phillips,  of  Paris. 

Her  life,  as  she  herself  expressed  it  to  me,  passed  with  con- 
stant reminders  of  her  infirmities ;  and  when  she  rose  from  a 
restless  bed,  to  the  sufferings  of  a  new  day,  tears  would  gush 
from  her  eyes,  at  the  hopeless  prospect  before  her.  Her  husband 
had  spent  a  little  fortune  in  taking  the  advice  of  eminent  med- 
ical men.  Dr.  Locock,  Dr.  Chambers,  Sir  Charles  Clark,  Dr. 
Chelius,  of  Heidelberg,  and  many  others  had  been  consulted  ; 
but  in  vain :  nor  did  they  hold  out  any  hope,  except  of  tempo- 
rary  alleviation. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that,  a  few  days  previous 
to  the  date  above  given,  she  had  visited  Monsieur  B ,  at- 
tracted by  astounding  reports  touching  the  wonders  of  his 
psych  ograph,  *  and  the  extraordinary  phenomena  attendant  on 
its  writing. 

Its  first  movements,  so  like  those  of  a  living  being,  aston- 

*  Now  known  among  us  under  the  name  of  planchette.     So  far  as  I 

am  informed,  Monsieur  B was  one  of  the  first  persons  who  ever 

made  or  used  one.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  this  Httle  instrument 
has  nothing  mysterious  about  it.  It  is  a  mere  physical  contrivance  to 
gather  vital-magnetic  power  and  f  acHitate  involuntary  writmg  It  is 
easier,  by  outside  agency,  to  put  a  castor- working  planchette  in  motion 
than  it  is  to  influence  the  human  arm  or  guide  the  human  hand  :  that 
is  all.  The  same  power  which  causes  the  instrument  to  write  would,  if 
in  stronger  measure,  cause  the  hand  to  write  without  its  intervention. 

I  have  seen  Monsieur  B 's  planchette  write,  as  fast  as  an  ordinary 

scribe  :  I  have  seen  it  write  forward  and  backward,  then  write  inverted, 
so  that  one  had  to  place  the  writing  in  front  of  a  mirror  in  order  to 
read  it.  I  have  held  a  long  and  spirited  debate  with  it  on  abstruse  sub- 
jects ;  two  daughters  of  Monsieur  B having  placed  the  tips  of  their 

fingers  on  its  surface.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  frequent  conversa- 
tion with  these  young  ladies,  who  were  sprightly  and  accomplished ; 
they  could  talk  charmingly  on  the  commonplaces  of  the  day  or  the  last 
opera;  Vat  I  am  as  sure  that  neither  of  them  could  have  maintained 
such  a  debate  for  five  minutes  as  I  am  that  they  could  not  converse  with 
any  one  in  Chinese  or  .Arabic. 


519 

ished  her  beyond  measure.  After  a  little  while  it  raised  itseli  ' 
up,  moved  toward  her  and  remained,  for  a  considerable  time,^ 
the  pencil  suspended  in  the  air.  "^ 

"  What  is  it  doing  ?  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  I  am  only  taking  a  look  at  you,"  was  the  reply  instantly 
written  out  by  the  psychograph.  After  a  time  it  added  :  "I 
see  you  have  not  come  from  mere  idle  curiosity,  but  from  a 
belter  motive."  Then  it  proceeded  to  set  forth  some  of  its 
peculiar  doctrines,  and  concluded  by  requesting  her  to  retumv 
in  a  day  or  two  and  to  bring  her  husband  with  her. 

The  night  between  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  of  April  was, 
to  Mrs.  Kyd,  one  of  even  more  than  usual  suffering,  and  she 
awoke  feeling  utterly  unable  to  make  the  promised  visit.  But 
she  summoned  courage ;  and,  fortified  as  usual  with  a  dose  of 
medicine  and  having  prepared  another  to  be  taken  on  her  re- 
turn, she  drove,  accompanied  by  her  husband,  to  the  house  of 
Monsieur  B . 

There  she  found  seven  or  eight  friends  of  Monsieur  B as- 


sembled, and  seated  herself  in  a  corner  of  the  room  to  watch  the 
proceedings.     They  were  experimenting  with  the  psychograph ; 

two   of  Monsieur   B 's  daughters  lightly  touching  it,  as 

usual.  *  The  results  obtained  seemed  even  more  astonishing 
than  on  the  previous  occasion ;  and,  almost  out  of  herself,  she 
involuntarily  exclaimed :  "It  seems  so  like  something  divine, 
that  I  think  if  it  were  to  bid  me  do  anything  in  the  world,  I 
would  obey." 

"  Why,  your  faith  is  enormous,  Mrs.  Kyd,"  said  some  one 
present. 

Shortly  afterward  the  psychograph  suddenly  wrote: 
"  Emma,  come  here  !  "  She  advanced  to  the  table  and  it  con- 
tinued :  "  Get  a  chair  and  sit  down."  She  did  so :  then  it 
added :  "  More  to  the  left  and  closer  to  me."  She  brought  her 
chair  close  to  that  part  of  the  table  where  the  psychograph 
was. 

*  It  ought  liere  to  be  stated  that  both  tJiese  joxmg  ladies  are  highly 
TOfloeptible  and  lucid  Bomnambules. 


620  THB  mSTAl^ANEOUS  CURE 

"  You  shall  be  cured,"  it  wrote :  "  it  shall  be  to  you  accord* 
ing  to  your  faith." 

Then,  suddenly  and  to  the  utter  astonibhment  of  all  present^ 
it  sprung  (with  the  hands  of  the  two  assistants  still  upon  it) 
from  the  table  against  her  heart,  remaining  there  for  th.  se  or 
four  seconds,  pressing  gently  against  her,  with  a  sort  of  flutter- 
ing or  tremulous  motion ;  then,  as  suddenly,  it  sprang  back  to 
the  table  and  instantly  wrote ; 

"  You  are  cured.  Go  home  and  do  not  take  that  nauseous 
draught  which  you  had  mixed  up,  against  your  return.  Eat 
whatever  you  please,  as  you  used  to  do  before  you  were  ill. 
Do  all  this  nothing  doubting,  and  be  assured  all  will  be  well." 

Mrs.  Kyd  informed  me  that  no  words  could  express  the  sud- 
den revulsion  of  feeling — the  emotion  utterly  unlike  anything 
she  had  ever  experienced  in  her  life — which  shot  over  her, 
causing  her  to  believe  that  the  cure  was  real.  She  seemed  ac- 
tually to  feel  (as  she  expressed  it  to  me)  the  revolution 
throughout  her  entire  frame,  and  the  return  of  the  several 
organs  to  their  normal  state.  She  breathed  long  and  deeply, 
without  effort  or  pain.  She  rose  and  walked ;  already,  so  it 
appeared  to  her,  with  renovated  strength. 

When  she  returned  home  she  ascended  the  stairs  lightly  and 
without  effort ;  in  a  word,  as  she  had  not  been  able  to  do  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  past.  This  she  repeated  several  times ; 
scarcely  believing,  even  then,  in  its  possibility.  The  medicine 
was  thrown  out ;  and  from  that  day  to  this,*  she  has  not  con- 
sulted a  physician  nor  swallowed  a  single  dose. 

That  day,  at  dinner,  she  looked  at  the  various  interdicted 
dishes  which  the  day  before  she  could  not  have  touched  with- 
out the  severest  penalty ;  hesitating  still,  with  natural  reluct- 
ance, to  taste  them.  But  then  the  injunction  to  eat,  nothing 
doubting,  recurred  to  her  mind.  She  did  so ;  felt  no  evil  effects 
whatever,  and  spent  a  night  of  almost  undisturbed  repose  such 
as  for  long  years  she  had  never  been  permitted  to  enjoy. 

r     *  Belated  to  me  in  Paris,  on  the  18th  of  April,  1859. 


WITH   ITS  EVIDENCE.  521 

More  than  a  year  has  passed  since  then :  and,  during  that 
period,  she  has  not  had  the  least  return  of  any  one  of  tha 
maladies  which  had  made  of  half  her  life  one  long  martyrdom. 
To  describe  how  gratefully  and  wonderingly  she  enjoyed  het 
relief;  or  with  what  zest  she  entered  upon  her  new  life,  which 
even  day  after  day  seemed  to  her  more  like  some  beautiful 
dream  than  any  earthly  reality — was,  she  declared  to  me,  im- 
possible. 

The  allegation,  as  written  by  the  psychograph,  was,  that  the 
cure  was  the  result  of  Mrs.  Kyd's  strong  faith. 

The  particulars  of  this  marvellous  case  I  had,  first  in  some- 
what general  terms  from  Monsieur  B ,  the  gentleman  at 

whose  house  the  circumstance  occurred,  and  whom  I  met  in 
London  in  January,  1859  ;  and  afterward,  during  a  visit  to 
Paris,  in  miaute  detail,  from  Mrs.  Kyd  herself,  in  the  presence 
of  her  husband :  he  confirming  the  narrative  in  every  point. 
From  earnest  desire  to  serve  the  cause  of  truth  and  in  token  of 
gratitude  to  God  for  benefit  so  unexpectedly  received,  Mrs. 
Kyd  granted  me  permission,  in  publishing  the  case,  to  give  hei 
name  ;  and  to  this  her  husband  also  assented.  In  view  of  the 
peculiarity  of  the  circumstances,  I  at  first  felt  reluctant  to  avail 
myself  of  so  generous  an  ofier;  as,  indeed  I  did  also  in  Mrs. 
Davis's  case.  But  on  further  reflection  I  decided  that,  in  the 
interests  of  truth  and  spiritual  science,  I  had  no  right  to  refuse 
such  an  opportunity  of  authentication. 

I  am  authorized  also  to  furnish  Mr.  Kyd's  address  to  any 
medical  man,  or  other  earnest  inquirer,  who  may  desire  direct 
testimony  for  wh^t  will  usually  be  deemed  incredible. 

The  public  cannot  have  a  better  voucher  for  the  sincerity  of 
the  narrators.  I  myself  have  stronger  proof;  for  I  became 
well  acquainted  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kyd,  and  I  have  the  addi- 
tional testimony  touching  their  intelligence  and  uprightness 
which  any  one  acquainted  with  the  world  instinctively  derives 
fi-om  daily  intercourse  with  the  earnest  and  the  cultivated. 

I  may  add,  what  has  been  stated  to  me  by  Monsieur  B 
and  confirmed  by  Mrs.  Kyd  herself,  that  he  had  given  her  n(F 


522 

reason  to  believe  that  a  cure  could  be  effected  through  the  in 

ter^^ention  of  the  psychograph  ;  nor,  though  he  knew  Mrs,  Kyd 

.  was  in  bad  health,  was  he  apprised  of  any  of  the  details  of  the 

case.     Monsieur  B also  stated  to  me  that  Mrs.  Kyd  had 

paid  liis  family  many  subsequent  visits ;  and  that  it  was  long 
bofore  she  could  see  the  psychograph,  inanimate  medium  though 
it  was,  without  shedding  tears. 

It  should  be  stated  that  a  previous  cure,  though  by  no  means 

so  striking  a  one,  had  been,  as  Monsieur  B informed  me, 

effected  in  a  similar  manner. 

Mrs.  Kyd  also  told  me  that  she  had  since  procured  a  psycho- 
graph ;  that,  with  her  hands  and  those  of  one  of  her  daughters 
upon  it,  they  had,  after  several  weeks'  patience,  succeeded  in 

getting  it  to  write  as  fluently  as  that  of  Monsieur  B ;  and 

that,  even  up  to  the  present  time,  if  Mrs.  Kyd  has  a  headache 
or  other  slight  indisposition,  by  placing  her  hands  upon  it  and 
retaining  them  there  some  time,  the  effect  is  to  cast  her  into 
magnetic  sleep  and,  in  every  case,  to  afford  relief.  Indeed  she 
and  her  husband  seemed  to  regard  the  little  instrument  as  a 
familiar  friend  and  adviser,  to  whom,  when  they  felt  need  of 
information  or  counsel,  they  might  resoi-t.* 

I  might  go  on,  filling  a  hundred  pages  with  the  details  of  cures 
wrought  amoDg  us  by  magnetic  or  spiritual  agency.  What 
are  called  "  healing  mediums "  are  to  be  found,  in  city  and 
country,  by  the  hundreds ;  and  though,  doubtless,  many  are 
pretenders  and  many  more  often  fail  to  relieve,  that  is  only 

*  The  above  narrative,  as  here  written  out,  was  submitted  by  me,  at 
Paris,  on  the  twenty-third  of  April,  1859,  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kyd ;  and  its 
accuracy  in  every  particular  assented  to  by  them. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  repeat  a  caution  already  given. 
There  is  great  temptation,  when  an  inestimable  blessing  has  thus  been 
received  through  spiritual  agency,  to  accept,  without  scruple  or  scia- 
tiny,  all  ti/inions  which  may  be  obtained  from  the  same  wonder-work- 
ing source.  But  this  is  dangerous  as  well  as  illogical.  The  power  to 
cure  is  one  thing ;  the  capacity  to  utter  truth  unmixed  with  error  quite 
another.  We  have  proof  of  the  former :  we  have  no  proof — indeed 
faUible  creatures  can  have  none — of  the  latter. 


INSANITY   CITRED  BY   SPIBrnjAL  AGENCY.  523 

what  happens  in  the  case  of  thousands  who  have  a  legal  right 
to  add  M.  D,  to  their  names. 

But  further  detail  is  needless.  The  proof  that  the  gift  of 
healing  inlieres  in  certain  favored  natures  is  as  complete,  and 
as  readily  attainable,  as  that  some  men  and  women  are  born 
poets  and  others  musicians.* 

And  space  fails  me  to  touch  except  on  a  single  additional 
poiat.  It  has  been  sometimes  alleged  that  Spiritualism  tends 
to  produce  insanity.  I  have  never  known,  or  found  proof,  of 
such  a  case :  yet  doubtless  such  have  occurred.  We  have  hun- 
dreds of  examples  of  mania  caused  by  religious  excitement ;  as 
at  revivals  or  camp-meetings :  and  it  would  be  strange  if 
Spiritualism,  when  unwisely  or  extravagantly  pui-sued,  should 
prove  an  exception  to  the  rule.  There  have,  however,  come 
to  my  knowledge  two  cases  in  which  insanity  has  been  cured, 
or  averted,  by  spiritual  influence ;  the  subject,  in  both  instan- 
ces, being  a  widow. 

For  several  years  previous  to  1860,  a  Mi-s.  Kendall  had 
been  an  inmate  of  the  Somerville  Lunatic  A.sylum,  near  Bos- 
ton ;  and  she  was  considered  by  the  resident  physician  of  that 
institution  one  of  his  most  dangerous  patients.  Her  lunacy 
had  been  caused  by  the  death  of  her  husband,  six  years  before  ; 
and  she  remained  insane  until  January,  1860.  At  that  time  she 
was  taken  fiom  the  asylum,  to  be  received  into  a  family  where 
there  were  several  mediums.  With  them  she  remained  many 
months ;  obtaining,  from  time  to  time,  communications  alleged 
to  come  from  her  deceased  husband. 

On  the  tenth  of  January,   1861,  the  above  circumstances 

*  I  have  the  full  particulars  from  the  patient  himself —but  no  room 
here  to  relate  them — of  a  cure  effected  by  the  well-known  Dr.  Newton. 
The  subject  was  a  New  York  merchant  of  high  standing,  and  he  told 
me  that  his  case  was  regarded  by  friends  and  physicians  as  absolutely 
hopeless ;  and  that  he  sought  Dr.  N.  in  sheer  despair.  Several  man- 
ipulations, throughout  two  weeks,  effected  a  marvellous  and  radical 
cure ;  and  for  years  and  until  the  day  I  saw  him,  there  had  been  no 
relapse. 


624  INSANITY   C3UBED   BY   8PIBITUAL   AGENCY. 

were  stated  to  me  by  her  son,  Mr.  F.  A.  Kendall.  His  mother 
was  then  at  home,  completely  cured.  He  told  me  that  he  was 
not  a  Spiritualist ;  not  having  had  what  he  deemed  sufficient 
evidence :  but  he  freely  admitted  that  his  mother's  cure 
was  due  solely  to  her  residence  among  Spiritualists,  and 
to  the  consoling  assurance  which  she  there  found  that  the  hus- 
band to  whom  in  life  she  had  been  devotedly  attached  still 
lived  and  still  thought  and  cared  for  her. 

The  other  lady  is  personally  known  to  me,  though  I  am  not 
at  liberty  to  give  her  name.  I  knew  her  when  her  husband 
was  alive ;  and  her  devotion  to  him  was  such  that  I  shared  the 
fears  which  I  sometimes  heard  expressed  by  other  friends  ot 
hers,  that  if  she  lost  him,  the  consequences  might  be  fatal.  To 
her  despair,  he  enlisted  when  the  war  was  at  its  height, 
reached  the  rank  of  Major  and  died  in  a  New  Orleans  hospital. 

When  the  news,  no  longer  to  be  withheld,  was  finally  broken 
to  her,  it  produced  a  fit  of  frenzy ;  and  for  weeks  she  was 
drifting  into  hopeless  insanity.  She  had  never  been  a  Spirit- 
ualist; indeed  she  usually,  as  I  well  remember,  had  treated 
the  subject  with  ridicule :  but  a  sister,  visiting  a  medium  in 
hopes  of  getting  something  for  herself,  received,  instead,  a  mes- 
sage to  the  disconsolate  widow.  It  was  repeated  to  her ;  and 
it  was  the  first  thing  that  roused  her  out  of  brooding  despair. 
She  went  herself  to  the  medium,  received  numerous  messages 
embodying  incontrovertible  tests  of  identity;  brightened  day 
by  day :  and  when  I  met  her,  many  months  afterward,  she 
had  regained  all  her  cheerfulness ;  and  told  me  that  she  felt  as 

if  K (his  pet  name)  were  living  and  conversing  with  her 

still. 

Thus,  in  our  day,  as  in  Christ's  time,  lunatics  may,  by  spirit- 
ual influence,  be  restored  to  "  their  right  mind."  The  time 
will  come  when  this  truth  will  be  acted  on  by  the  managers  ol 
insane  asylums. 


CHAPTER  n. 

OTHER  SPIRITUAL   GIFTS. 

Deeming  it  highly  important  to  run  out  the  parallel  between 
the  spiritual  gifts  enumerated  by  Paul  and  by  the  Evangelists, 
and  those  which  manifest  themselves  in  our  times,  I  had  pre- 
pared five  chapters,  with  narratives  illustrating  the  general  simi- 
larity between  ancient  and  modem  "  signs  and  wonders ; "  to 
be  here  inserted.*  But  my  manuscript  has  spread  over  an  un- 
expected number  of  printed  pages;  so  that  lack  of  space  and 
a  desire  that  this  book  should  be  sold  at  a  moderate  price 
cause  their  exclusion.  If  I  should  live  to  write  another  work 
this  omission  may  be  supplied. 

Meanwhile  a  few  references,  in  this  connection,  may  be 
acceptable. 

Of  the  gift  of  prophecy,  considered  by  Paul  one  of  the  chief 
( — "  desire  spiritual  gifts,  but  rather  that  ye  may  prophesy"  f), 
some  very  remarkable  examples,  exhibited  during  somnam- 
bulism, are  given  by  French  writers  on  physiology  and  vital 
magnetism  J  of  acknowledged  reputation.     In  this  volume  an 


*  As  will  be  seen  by  tbose  who  may  have  looked  over  a  condensed 
table  of  contents  included  in  advance  specimen-sheets  of  this  volume, 
already  issued  by  the  publishers. 

f  1  Corinthians  xiv.  1. 

X  See,  for  example,  Manud  Pratique  du  Magnetisme  Anim<'l,  par 
Alphonse  Teste,  D.M.  de  la  Faculte  de  Paris;  membre  de  plusieura 
Bocietes  savantes:  4th  Ed.  Paris,  1853;  pp.  120-128.  This  book  has 
been  translated  into  several  langnages. 

See  also  PJiysiologie  du  Systeme  Nerveux^  by  Dr.  Georqet,  of  Paris, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  404,  405.  As  to  Georget's  character  and  standing^,  8e€ 
Footfalls,  pp.  53,  54. 


52G 

example  is  supplied ;  *   and  in  a  former  work  of  miue  thera 
are  several,  f     Bunsen  believed  in  this  faculty.  J 

As  illustrating  St.  Paul's  text — "to  another  the  word  of 
knowledge  by  the  same  spirit," — I  had  intended  here  to  give  a 
collection  of  what  I  have  good  reason  to  regard  as  spiritual 
communications  to  myself;  but  I  now  limit  myself  to  one— 
an  average  specimen — relating  to  this  very  power  of  prevision. 
It  purported  to  be  from  Yiolet,  and  I  obtained  it  §  through  a 
aon-professional  medium.     I  entitle  it 

The  proleptic  Gift, 

'*  There  is  a  faculty  which  is  the  complement  of  memory. 
Memory  causes  that  which  does  not  now  exist,  but  which  did 
once  exist,  to  become,  as  it  were,  present.  So  this  other  fac- 
ulty— let  us  call  it  prevision — causes  that  which  does  not  now 
exist  but  will  hereafter  exist,  to  appear — like  the  past  when 
we  remember  it, — to  be  present.  But  the  faculty  of  memory 
is  one  possessed,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  by  almost  every 
one  ;  while  the  faculty  of  prevision  is  the  privilege  of  compara- 
tively few  :  and  it  is  enjoyed  by  these  few  in  different  degrees ; 
sometimes  only  as  a  dim  presentiment  or  premonition,  some- 
times as  a  clear  prevision. 

"  Prevision,  though  it  be  not  as  common,  is  as  natural  a 
faculty,  as  memory  :  and  it  may  present  to  us,  quite  as  clearly 
and  even  more  clearly  than  memory,  that  which  (as  regards 
time)  is  remote  from  us.  Our  minds  may,  under  certain  con- 
ditions, anticipate  more  distinctly  than  they  can  recall :  for 
our  own  feelings  in  the  present  often  mix  less  with  our  previ- 
sions than  with  our  recallings. 

*  See  narrative  entitled  A  Trifle  Predicted,  in  Book  ii.  chap.  4. 

f  In  Footfalls  will  be  f onnd  the  following  examples  of  presentiment, 
or  prophetic  faculty,  in  its  various  phases :  The  Negro  Servant^  p.  204  \ 
The  Fishing  Party,  p.  151 ;  How  Senator  LinrCs  Life  was  Saved,  p.  453 ; 
a  ad  others. 

X  See  preceding-  page  178  §  November  15,  1861. 


527 

"  As  there  is,  in  reality,  no  up  or  down — these  terms  being 
relative  only — so,  as  to  time,  there  is,  in  one  sense,  no  past  or 
future.     All  IS. 

"  If  this  faculty  of  prevision  had  not  shown  itself,  at  times, 
throughout  all  the  recorded  past  history  of  the  world,  prophets 
and  prophecy  would  not  be  the  common  words  they  are." 

This  communication  furnishes,  at  all  events,  material  for 
thought.  In  connection  with  a  subject  which  we  cannot  ex- 
pect, in  this  world,  fully  to  comprehend,  I  commend  to  the 
reader  a  remarkable  and  suggestive  little  pamphlet-volume  en- 
titled, "  The  Stars  and  the  Earth ;  "  published  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  years  since,  by  Bailliere,  London;  and  since  repub- 
lished in  this  country.* 

As  regards  the  gift  designated  in  the  text — "  to  another  dis- 
cerning of  spirits  " — it  is  the  less  important  that  I  should  here 
advert ;  seeing  that  I  have  furnished  examples  both  in  this  vol- 
ume f  and  in  a  former  work.  J 

As  regards  the  Pentecostal  epiphany — '*to  another  divers 
kinds  of  tongues," — the  most  remarkable  modern  example  has 
been  already  alluded  to  ;  namely  the  phenomena  that  came  to 
light  in  London,  among  the  Rev.  Mr.  Irving's  congregation, 


*  Mr.  Bailliere  informed  me  that  the  manuscript  of  this  little  trea- 
tise came  to  him  anonymously,  accompanied  by  a  sum  of  money  to 
defray  part  of  the  expense  of  publication  ;  and  that  all  his  exertions  to 
discover  the  author  had  been  unavailing-.  A  rare  example  of  literary 
bashfulness  ! 

f  As  Sister  Elizabeth^  preceding  page  401 ;  the  vision  of  T^o^  by 

Mkj.  B of  Cleveland,  Book  iv.  chapter  3 ;  the  vision  to  Mr.  Bach 

in  dream,  Book  iv.  chapter  2  ;  and  others. 

X  See  Footfalls :  the  continuous  visions  of  Oberlin,  p.  364  ;  The  Dead 
Body  and  the  Boat-cloak^  pp.  367,  368 ;  Apparition  in  India,  p.  369 ; 
The  Brother' 8  appearance  to  the  Sister,  p.  372;  vision^  of  Madame 
Hauffe,  pp.  396-400 ;  TJie  Old  Kent  Manor-house,  pp.  415-417 ;  and 
others. 


528  <*THE  WORKING   OF  MTBACLES." 

and  -which,  as  we  have  seen,*  were  deemed  genuine  by  so  sound 
a  thinker  as  Baden  Powell. 

Mr.  Livermore  also  testifies  to  the  fact  that  he  received^ 
through  Miss  Fox,  messages  in  languages  unknown  alike  to  her 
and  to  himself,  f  I  examined  one  of  these  (in  good  German) 
the  day  after  it  was  received. 

Then  there  was  the  power  which  Jesus  exercised  by  Jacob's 
well — the  perception  of  the  hidden  Past — causing  the  Samari- 
tan woman's  exclamation  to  her  neighbors :  "  Come !  see  a  man 
who  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did."  The  same  faculty 
was  possessed,  as  in  his  autobiography  he  informs  us,  f  by  a 
well-known  and  much-esteemed  German  author. 

Finally  we  have  Paul's  words : — "  to  another  the  working 

of  miracles "  (dunameon) :  referring  to  other  spiritual  powers 

or  phenomena,  not   specified.     We  can  but  conjecture  what 

these  were. 

/       I  have  myself  either  personally  witnessed,  or  had  trustwor- 

/  thy  evidence  for  various  phenomena,  seemingly  more  miracu- 

/    lous  than  any  related  in  this  book ;  as  the  powers  of  levita- 

'~^  tion,§  of  elongation,  of  handling  glowing  coals  without  injury, 

and  the  like. 

.       *  Prefatory  Address,  sec.  14 ;  preceding  page  178. 

I       f  See  Mr.  Livermore's  letter  to  the  author,  at  the  close  of  chapter  4, 

I   Bookv. 

XEine  Sdbstschau^  von  Heinmch  Zschokke,  4th  Ed.  New  York 
reprint,  1851 ;  pp.  283-287.     Zschokke's  works  are  collected  in  forty 
-*T  volumes. 
/        §  Lord  Lindsay,  in  a  recent  letter  to  the  (London)  Spiritualist^  nar- 
rates the  following  incident : 
J  "I  was  sitting  with  Mr.  Home  and  Lord  Adare,  and  a  cousin  of  his. 

\       During  the  sitting  Mr.  Home  went  into  a  trance,  and  in  that  state  was 
'        carried  out  of  the  window  in  the  room  next  to  where  we  were,  and  was 
brought  in  at  our  window.     The  distance  between  the  windows  was 
i        about  seven  feet  six  inches,  and  there  was  not  the  slightest  foothold 
I        between  them,  nor  was  there  more  than  a  twelve-inch  projection  to 
each  window,  which  served  as  a  ledge  to  put  flowers  on.     We  heard 
the  window  in  the  next  room  lifted  up,  and  almost  immedL'itely  af ter^ 


ohuist's  promise  beinq  fulfilled.  5l'9 

As  to  some  of  these  manifestations  I  am  not,  for  the  pres- 
ent, at  liberty,  even  did  space  permit,  to  give  to  the  public  the 
evidence  which  is  in  my  hands. 

I  do  not  doubt  that,  as  the  years  pass  by,  additional  proof 
will  accumulate  that  Christ's  promise  to  his  followers — that 
they  should  do  the  works  that  he  did  and  greater  works  still  * — 
is  in  progress  of  fulfilment  among  us. 

we  saw  Home  floating  in  the  air  outside  our  window.  The  moon  was 
shining  into  the  room ;  my  back  was  to  the  light,  and  I  saw  the  shadow 
on  the  wall  of  the  window-siU,  and  Home's  feet  about  six  inches  above 
it.  He  remained  in  this  position  for  a  few  seconds,  then  raised  the 
window  and  glided  into  the  room  feet  foremost  and  sat  down.  Lord 
Adare  then  went  into  the  next  room  to  look  at  the  window  from  which 
he  had  been  carried.  It  was  raised  about  eighteen  inches,  and  he  ex- 
pressed his  wonder  how  Mr.  Home  had  been  taken  through  so  narrow 
an  aperture.  Home  said  (still  m  trance)  :  '  I  wiU  show  you ; '  and  then, 
with  his  back  to  the  window,  he  leaned  back,  and  was  shot  out  of  the 
aperture  head  first,  with  body  rigid,  and  then  returned  quite  quietly. 
The  window  was  about  seventy  feet  from  the  ground." 
♦Johnxiv.  12. 


\ 


BOOK   VII. 

Audbessed  to  Chbistian  Believers  m  Immutable  Law  and  rs 
Eeliqious  Proqbess. 

THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  MATTER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SUMMARY. 


An  author  who  assumes  to  write  with  a  view  to  the  improve- 
ment of  his  race  owes  it  to  his  readers,  ere  he  takes  leave  of 
them,  to  sum  up  clearly  what  he  seeks  to  do,  and  how  he  seeks 
to  do  it. 

I  address  this  summary  to  those  who  have  convinced  them- 
selves of  the  universal  and  persistent  reign  of  Law,  and  who 
have  faith  in  constant  spiritual  progress  and  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  Christ's  teachings  as  the  religion  of  Civilization.  I 
specially  address  such  believers,  because  they  will  best  appre- 
ciate the  general  tenor  of  argument  throughout  this  book. 

Consider,  I  pray  you,  the  following  brief  propositions,  in 
connection  with  each  other. 

The  teachings  of  Christ,  as  set  forth  in  the  Gospel  narratives, 
so  intimately  connect  themselves  with  the  wonderful  powers 
(dunameis)  there  ascribed  to  him,  and  with  his  claim  to  be  the 
Anointed  Messenger  of  God,  and  with  his  alleged  appearance 
to  his  disciples  after  death,  that  if  the  claim  be  rejected  and 
the  phenomena  denied,  faith  in  the  teachings  will  be  rudely 
shaken;  the  most  rudely  in  the  most  candid  and  upright  minds. 
Neither  Strauss  nor  R^nan  speak  of  Christ,  in  terms,  as  an 


EOMAN   CATHOLIC   ARGUMENT.  531 

impostor ;  yet  tlie  virtual  effect  of  their  theories  touching  the 
signs  and  wonders  of  the  first  century,  is  to  represent  him  aa 
one  who  lent  himself  to  deceit.  But  a  spiritual  system  whicli 
had  its  origin  in  deceit  presents  slender  claim  to  become  the 
supreme  religion  of  a  civilized  world. 

The  Church  of  Rome  recognizes  this  truth.  But  because 
she  does  not  believe  in  invariable  law  as  the  riile  of  God's  gov- 
ernment, nor  in  spiritual  phenomena  occurring  under  natural 
law,  she  regards  the  wonderful  works  and  gifts  of  which  we 
read  in  the  Gospels,  as  miracles,  wrought  by  one  of  the  Per- 
sons of  the  Godliead  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  still 
wrought  by  Him  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  single  Church. 
She  sets  down  all  persons  who  deny  miracles  as  denying  that 
these  works  and  gifts  ever  had  existence ;  and  she  declares  all 
such  persons  to  be  anathema  ;  that  is,  accursed  of  God. 

You,  believing  in  invariable  law  and  believing  also  in  Christ, 
as  Civilization's  great  Spiritual  Teacher,  can  say  to  the  Church 
of  Rome :  **  We  admit  that  the  works  were  done  and  that  the 
spiritual  gifts  were  exercised :  we  deny,  however,  that  they 
were  miraculous." 

But  the  Church  of  Rome  has  a  right  to  reply:  "  Your  theoiy 
is  illogical.  You  say  the  works  and  gifts  in  question  occurred 
under  natural  law,  and  you  assert  that  all  natural  laws  are 
universal  and  perpetual.  If  so,  the  law  under  which  these 
works  and  gifts  appeared  must  have  remained  unchanged,  and 
must  be  still  operative  at  the  present  day;  and,  under  that 
law,  similar  signs  and  wonders  must  be  occurring  now  through- 
out the  world.  But  this  does  not  happen.  They  occur  within 
our  Holy  Church — the  only  Church  of  Christ — and  nowhere 
else.  They  are  still  wrought  by  Christ ;  and  they  are  wrought 
by  him,  not  under  a  general  law,  but  among  iis  exclusively  and 
miraculously,  in  proof  that  the  Catholic  Church  is  his  Church, 
and  that  he  recognizes  no  other." 

It  is  a  very  strong  argument.  It  has  convinced  millions. 
To  its  power  is  mainly  attributable  the  success  of  the  Tracta* 
riaii  movement  at  the  English  University  of  Oxford,  in  1832) 


632  THE   ALTERNATIVE   WHICH 

carrying  over  such  vigorous  thinkers  as  John  Heniy  [^Tewman 
and  others  of  his  school.  To  its  power  is  to  be  ascribed  much 
of  that  enthusiasm  and  earnest  conviction  and  self-sacrificing 
faith  which  has  ever  marked  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  phe- 
nomena do  occur.  In  favor  of  her  claims  that  Church  has  the 
evidence  of  her  senses ;  the  same  evidence  which  Christ's  dis 
ciples  had.  Thousands  witness  the  wonders.  On  them  shd 
bases  her  right  to  canonize.  Through  them  her  greatest  tri- 
umphs have  been  achieved. 

Now,  what  are  you  to  reply  ?  That  the  phenomena  do  not 
occur  within  the  precincts  of  Roman  Catholicism  ?  That  alle- 
gation has  been  tried  and  has  failed :  men  continue  to  believe 
that  they  do  occur.  You  will  be  beaten  on  that  issue,  as  we 
have  seen  that  for  the  last  three  hundred  years  you  have  been. 
If  I  have  proved  to  you,  in  the  preceding  pages,  that  similar 
phenomena  may  be  observed  outside  the  precincts  of  the  Roman 
Church,  why  not  within  these  precincts  ?  But  if  I  have  not 
proved  this,  then  where  do  you  stand  ?  What  can  you  reply 
to  the  Catholicism  of  Rome  ? 

You  cannot  deny  that  a  universal,  invariable  law  which  was 
in  operation  in  the  fii-st  century  must  be  in  operation  still. 
And  if  you  fail  to  show,  by  modem  results,  that  it  is  in  opera- 
tion to-day,  then  the  Church  of  Rome  reasons  fairly  when  she 
tells  you  that  it  never  had  existence ;  therefore  that  Christ's 
wonderful  works  were  not  done  under  law ;  therefore  that,  if 
they  be  not  miracles,  they  are  fables.  She  places  before  you 
the  naked  alternative — Renan  or  St.  Peter. 

If  you  have  any  mode  of  escape  from  such  a  dilemma,  other 
than  by  the  path  which  this  volume  indicates,  I  pray  you  to 
come  forward  and  set  it  forth. 

And  if  you  cannot  suggest  any  other,  think  where  you  stand ! 

On  one  side  a  Church  which  claims  exclusive  infallibility, 
and  with  it  a  right  which  properly  inheres  in  the  Infallible — 
the  right  to  persecute  even  unto  death ;  a  Church  which  claims 
the  right  to  circimiscribe  scientific  inquiry ;  a  Church  which 
pronounces  her  doctrines  to  be  irreformable  and  her  creed  to 


IS   PEE8ENTED   TO   US.  533 

be  a  finality ;  a  Church  which  denies  to  humankind  religious 
progress. 

On  the  other  hand  a  Christianity  which  had  birth  in  fabulous 
legends  ;  a  Spiritual  System  of  which  the  historians — impostors 
or  self  deceivers — narrate  lies  ;  a  system  pretending  to  bring 
inviiortality  to  light,  yet  assuming,  as  crucial  test  whereby  to 
establish  that  great  truth,  a  cliildish  snj^erstition.  For  such— 
with  all  due  respect  to  the  talents  and  the  sincerity  of  the  man 
— is  Renan's  Christianity. 

With  the  issue  thus  made  up,  I  think  the  Pope  will  have 
the  best  of  it.  1  see  no  reasonable  gi-ound  for  the  assurance 
that  the  brilliant  Frenchman's  rationalism  will  not  go  dov^Ti 
before  the  Church  of  Rome. 

As  little  do  I  believe  that  Secularism  will  prevail  against 
her.  It  has  nothing  to  offer  but  this  world,  and  that  is  insuffi- 
cient for  man. 

But  this  is  dealing  in  negatives  only.  "  Leave  these,"  you 
will  say  to  me,  "  and  let  your  summary  inform  us,  plainly  and 
briefly,  what  system,  in  your  opinion,  will  prevail." 

Willingly.  A  system  that  can  reply  thus  to  Papal  argu- 
ment :  "  We  admit  that  the  natural  law  under  which  the  signs 
and  wonders  of  the  Gospels  occurred  is  in  operation  still.  We 
admit  that  similar  signs  and  wonders  have  occurred,  and  still 
occur,  within  your  Church.  We  add  that  they  occur,  as  we 
can  testify,  outside  of  your  Church  also.  They  are  oecumeni- 
cal. Whether  within  your  Church  or  Avithout  it,  they  occur  in 
accordance  with  universal  and  enduring  law.  They  afford 
proof,  as  strong  as  that  which  was  vouchsafed  to  the  apostles, 
of  immortality :  but  they  afford  no  proof  whatever  that 
Poman  Catholics  are  God's  children  of  preference,  or  that,  out- 
side of  St.  Peter's  fold,  there  is  no  true  religious  life." 

It  suffices  not,  however,  to  have  a  system  that  can  reply  to 
an  opponent's  argument.  If  we  would  succeed  against  that 
opponent,  we  must  discard  the  errors  upon  which  our  opposition 


534  WHAT  OUGHT  TO   BE   DISCARDED 

ti)  the  Roman  Church  is,  or  should  be,  based.  "We  must  dis* 
card- 
Belief  in  every  phase  of  the  Infallible,  in  connection  with 
any  religious  matter  whatever. 

Belief  in  the  Miraculous,  past  or  present. 

Belief  in  the  right  of  Persecution  ;  whether  by  ecclssiasti- 
c.il  excommunication  or  social  outlawry  ;  whether  by  employ- 
ment of  rack  and  fagot,  or  by  suborning  of  public  opinion. 

Belief  in  the  Exclusive,  as  applied  to  any  Church  or  sect, 
sv.pposed  to  be  God's  favorite. 

Belief  in  a  Finality,  as  found  in  any  branch  of  knowledge, 
including  religion. 

Belief  in  Vicarious  Atonement,  in  Imputed  Kighteousness, 
in  a  personal  Devil,  in  an  Eternal  Hell  and  in  Original  De- 
pravity. 

It  may  be  added — though  this  is  a  Protestant  rather  than  a 
Roman  Catholic  error — belief  in  the  saving  efficacy  of  faith 
without  works. 

There  remains  another  duty,  as  imperative.  If,  misled  by  a 
wholesale  spirit  of  condemnation,  we  have  rejected  certain  val- 
uable tenets  of  the  Old  Faith,  because  the  form  in  which  they 
appeared  pleased  us  not,  we  ought  to  reconsider  our  rejection. 
Great  truths  are  often  covered  up  in  unseemly  garb.  Let  U3 
reflect  whether  we  may  not  properly  admit  our  belief — 

Not  in  a  Purgatory  of  flames,  whence  sinners  are  rescued  by 
virtue  of  the  Church's  intercession ;  but  in  a  state  of  progres- 
sion, intermediate  between  the  life  which  now  is  and  the  higher 
Dhases  of  another. 

Not  in  the  Intercession  of  Saints,  for  we  need  not  holy  men 
k)  remonstrate  in  our  favor  with  God,  as  some  of  the  Jewish 
prophets  of  old  assumed  to  do ;  but  in  grateful  recipiency  ot 
mch  guardian  aid  and  wise  counsel  as  may  come  to  us  from  the 
denizens  of  a  better  world. 

Not  in  the  efficacy  of  paid  masses  that  find  favor  in  God'a 
sight  and  induce  him  to  release  from  suffering  in  penal  fire«i 
those  to  whose  benefit  these  ecclesiastical  ceremonies  inure, 


AND   WHAT  BETAINED.  535 

but  in  tlie  influence  of  fervent  prayer,  offered  here  below,  to 
aid  a  soul  struggling  upward  to  the  light,  whether  the  struggle 
be  on  our  earth,  or  in  that  other  life,  a  supplement  to  this, 
where  a  spirit  laden  with  sin  equally  needs,  ere  it  rises  to 
better  things,  effort  and  repentance.  * 

For  the  rest,  I  think  that  he  is  the  most  likely  to  distinguish 
Cliristiauity  in  its  purity,  who,  with  ears  happily  closed  to  the 
harsh  murmurs  of  the  scholiasts  f  reads,  in  the  spirit  of  a  cul- 
tivated child,  the  teachings  ascribed  by  the  Synoptical  Gospels 
to  Jesus  ;  interpreting  these  by  that  inward  light — God's  holy 
spark  within  us — to  which  Christ  himself  so  often  refers. 

I  hope  that  in  preceding  chapters  I  may  have  succeeded  in 
giving  you,  in  a  general  way,  my  idea  of  the  aspect  of  Christi- 
anity when  divested  of  canonical  cerements.  Here,  ere  I  close, 
I  may  briefly  epitomize.  It  seems  proper  in  discarding  so  much 
that  is  called  orthodox,  to  advert  to  the  grand  truths  that  re- 


*  See,  for  an  e-sample,  how  repentance  may,  by  its  regenerating  in- 
fluence, change  the  character  and  condition  of  a  criminal  in  the  next 
world ;  and  how  prayers  and  counsel  from  this  sphere  may  bear  fruit 
in  another,  FootfaUs^  pp.  396,  397,  399.  The  incident  there  given  ii 
very  suggestive. 

f  **  Wen,  als  Knaben,  ihr  einst  Smintheus  Anacreons 
Fabelhafte  Gespielinnen, 
Dichterische  Tauben  umflogt,  und  sein  maonish  Ohr 

Vor  dem  Lerme  der  Scholien 
Sanft  zugirrtet— "  Klopstock. 


CHAPTER  IL 

WHAT  UNDEBLIES   CJHRIST's  TEACHINGS,  AS   FOUNDATION-MOTIVR 

"And  now  abideth  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love,  these  three,  but*  tha 
greatest  of  these  is  Love." — 1  Corinthians  xiii  13. 
"  Thy  kingdom  come  I  "—Matthew  vi  10. 

**  Repent  !  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand : "  these, 
as  we  have  seen,  are  the  earliest  recorded  words  of  Christ's 
public  discourse. 

The  Pharisees  asked  him:  "When  shall  the  kingdom  ol 
God  come?" 

And  he  replied :  *'  The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with 
observation :  neither  shall  they  say  '  Lo  here ! '  or  *  Lo  there !  ' 
For  behold !  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you." 

— Is  within  us.  The  light  within.  The  divine,  indwelling 
spirit  of  truth.  How  far — passing  by  Christ's  words — do  we 
wander,  seeking  that  which  is  in  our  own  hearts ! 

We  think  by  vast  searchings  to  find  out  God  and  his  king- 
dom and  his  Spirit.  But  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not  in  the  fierce 
wind  of  Dogmatism,  desolating  in  its  sweep ;  it  is  not  in  the 
earthquake  of  warring  creeds,  rending  and  convulsing  the  reli- 
gious world ;  it  is  not  in  that  fire  of  zeal  which  persecutes  and 
consumes ;  it  is  in  the  still,  small  voice  which,  so  it  be  not 
quenched,  speaks  from  the  soul  of  every  one  of  us. 

— Often  obscured ;  stifled  sometimes  by  adverse  influence  and 
vile  surroundings :  not  unheeded  only,  alas !  unheard :  yet  as 
surely  existing,  down  under  the  crust,  in  the  Bushman,  or  in 
the  Caffre,  or  in  the  nomadic  outcast  of  Civilization,  as  shining 
in  the  Christian  who  lives  the  nearest  to  the  bidding  of  his 
Lord. 

**  Thy  kingdom  come  1 " 


THE   HoNQEB   AND   THIEST.  537 

"We  repeat  a  thousand  times  these  words  of  Christ-s  prayer, 
for  once  that  we  fully  appreciate  their  deep  meaning :  forget- 
ting that  the  kingdom  whose  advent  we  implore  is  (if  we 
accept  Christ's  interpretation)  a  soA-ereignty  of  which  we  can- 
not witness  the  coming ;  to  which  we  cannot  assign  this  place 
or  that ;  seeing  that  we  bear  it  ever  about  us.  We  pray,  even 
if  we  know  it  not,  that  the  spiiit  of  God  within  us  may  assert 
itself  and  rule.  We  pray  for  the  sovereignty  of  enlightened 
conscience.  We  pray  for  the  coming  of  ethical,  of  spiiitual 
development ;  and  we  pray  that,  when  it  comes,  it  may  be  the 
governing  power  of  our  race. 

Conscience  is  God's  vicegerent,  rightfully  ruling  the  heart 
of  man.  Under  her  rule  alone  is  human  life  satisfactory.  That 
is  Christ's  doctrine.  How  simply  and  how  strongly  has  he  ex- 
pressed this ! 

"  Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness: for  they  shall  be  filled." 

— Hunger  and  thirst,  not  after  this  dogma  or  that  sect ;  not 
after  ritual  or  ceremonial  or  long  prayers  in  the  synagogues 
or  much  speaking ;  nor  yet  after  silver  and  gold :  hvmger 
and  thirst  after  the  right — that  Kingdom  of  Heaven  within. 

Christ's  plan  is — right-doing  because  it  is  the  right.  Right- 
doing,  come  what  will  of  it,  for  that  is  God's  afiair.  Accept 
the  consequences.     Do  we  not  pray :  "  Thy  will  be  done !  " 

Things  may  seem  to  go  ill.  Men  may  revile  and  persecute 
and  speak  evil.  No  matter.  Even  then,  Jesus  declares,  is  the 
right-doer  blessed.  He  may  seem  forsaken ;  bread  itself  may 
be  scant :  yet,  in  the  end,  it  is  he  alone  who  shall  be  filled.  If 
we  seek  first  God's  Right,  all  else — that  is  Christ's  assertion — 
shall  be  added  unto  us. 

Yet  he  states  this  as  a  fact,  not  puts  it  forward  as  a  motive. 
The  motive  on  which  he  relies  is  not  the  prospect  of  gain ;  it 
is  the  hunger  and  thirst.  We  may  conform  to  man's  law 
through  forced  obedience,  fear  of  penalty,  hope  of  reward. 
God's  law  can  be  fulfilled  through  love  alone. 

Christ  has  nowhere  said  that  they  are  blessed  who  act  right' 
23* 


538  CHEIST  SEEKS   TO   AWAKEN  THE 

eously  in  order  to  win  Heaven  or  escape  Hell.  Fear,  a  haso 
motive,  enters  not  at  all  into  his  scheme.  He  does  not,  like 
the  Psalmist,  inculcate  the  fear  of  God :  *  his  wisdom  has  a 
far  nobler  beginning.  It  is  based  on  perfect  love — that  lovo 
which  casteth  out  fear. 

The  poet  expressed  a  thoroughly  Christian  sentiment  when 
he  prayed : 

"  What  Conscience  dictates  to  be  done 
Or  warns  me  not  to  do ; 
This  teach  me,  more  than  Hell,  to  shun, 
That,  more  than  Heaven,  pursue." 

This  matter  of  basic  motive  underlying  a  religion  is  of  vasi 
practical  importance.  We  poorly  appreciate  Christ's  spiritual 
polity  if  we  fail  to  perceive  that  it  trusts,  for  a  world's  reform, 
to  awakening  in  man  the  slumbering  love  of  the  Right,  for  ita 
own  sake ;  not  to  arousing  his  cupidity  or  playing  on  his  fears. 
If  a  child,  passing  from  under  his  teacher's  hand,  grow  to  man- 
hood honest  merely  because  he  thinks  that  honesty  is  the  best 
policy,  he  may  be  a  fair  dealer,  and  so  far  commendable ;  but 

*  If  this  startle  any  one,  I  beg  him  to  examine,  for  himself,  whether, 
/  in  the  entire  Gospel  record,  there  occur,  even  once,  the  direct  injunc- 
tion by  Christ,  "  Fear  God : "  an  injunction  repeated,  a  hundred  times, 
imder  the  Old  Dispensation.  He  will  find,  in  Matthew  (x.  28),  this: 
' '  Fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul : 
but  rather  fear  him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  body  and  soul  in 
HelL" 

Yet  the  very  words  next  following  are  these  : 

"  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  and  one  of  them  shaL 
not  fall  to  the  grour  d  without  your  Father,  But  the  very  hairs  o* 
your  head  are  all  numbered.  Fea/r  ye  not^  therefore ;  ye  are  of  more 
value  than  many  sparrows." 

The  fair  interpretation  evidently  is  this  :  "  It  is  more  reasonable  to 
fear  one  who  has  power  over  both  body  and  soul  than  one  who  hai 
power  over  the  body  only.  But  fear  not  your  Heavenly  Father ;  for 
ye  are  under  his  constant  care." 

With  this  accords  the  spirit  of  the  whole  record.  "  Fear  not,  Httla 
flock,"  said  Christ.  And  he  declared  that  his  disciples  should  be 
known  by  their  love,  not  by  their  fears. 


SLUMBERING   LOVE    OF   THE   EIGHT.  539 

he  is  not  a  disciple  of  Christ.  If  a  professor  of  religion  exhibit 
the  liveliest  zeal  for  his  Church,  actuated  by  no  higher  principle 
than  that  which  caused  Louis  XIY.  to  repeal  the  Edict  of 
Nantes — namely,  to  save  a  worthless  soul  from  Hell — he  may 
be  a  useful  Church  member,  but  he  is  not  a  Christian.  Thero, 
is  no  Christianity  except  that  which  has  for  foundation  the 
iDdwelling  love  of  the  Right. 

Let  us  not  despair  that,  some  day,  such  may  become  the  ba- 
sis of  civilization's  morality,  public  and  private.  A  little  in- 
tro  vision  may  encourage.  When  we  have  been  looking  back 
upon  our  early  youth,  has  the  thought  never  come  over  us  thav 
we  are  not  what  we  might  have  been — that  our  nature  was 
better  than  our  education  ?  Do  we  not  sometimes  feel — the 
dullest  among  us — tliat  there  are  springs  of  virtue  within  us 
that  have  rarely  been  touched ;  generous  impulses  that  have 
seldom  been  awakened ;  noble  aspirations  that  have  never 
found  field  of  action  ?  And  do  such  convictions  come  to  us 
alone  ?  Shall  we  stand  up  in  the  temple  and  thank  God  that 
we  are  not  as  other  men?  Is  it  not  written  that  man  was 
created  in  the  image  of  God  ? 

Let  it  not  discourage  us  that  such  a  change  of  motive  from 
the  ruling  selfishness  of  the  day  involves  a  reform  radical  even 
to  regeneration.  Christ  admitted  that.  He  saw  how  blind  to 
the  heaven  within  was  the  world  around  him.  "  Except  a 
man  be  born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

A  consideration  which  will  suggest  itself  to  every  one  here 
intervenes. 

Conscience  alone,  if   it  be  uninstructed  and  undeveloped,^ 
suffices  not,  how  earnest  soever,  to  reform  the  world.     The 
most  sincere  love  of  the  Right  can  work  only  according  to 
light  and  knowledge:  but   the   light  may  be  feeble  and  the 
knowledge  scant. 

Beyond  the  result  to  be  hoped  from  the  general  progress  of 
Civilization,  does  Christ's  system  open  up  to  us  no  special 
Bource  whence  to  supply  this  need  ? 

The  reply  connects  itself  with  a  subject  treated  of  in  one  of 


54:0  THE   PEOMISE   MADE   BY 

the  most  important  chapters  of  this  volume.*  Tesus,  as  I  have 
ah-eady  reminded  you,  said  to  his  followers,  at  the  close  of  his 
earthly  life : 

^'  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  to  you,  but  ye  cannot  beat 
them  now.  Howbeit  when  he,  the  spirit  of  truth,  shall  come, 
he  wdll  guide  you  into  all  truth  :  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  him- 
self, but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak." 

Whether  Christ,  in  virtue  of  his  proleptic  power,  foresaw 
that  it  entered  into  the  economy  of  God,  at  a  certain  stage  oi 
human  progress,  to  vouchsafe  unto  man  mediate  spiritual  i-e- 
vealings,  coming  to  him  perennially  from  a  wiser  world  than 
this ;  whether  the  Author  of  Christianity  here  indicates  the 
source  whence  he  believes  that  the  human  conscience  (so  soon 
as  the  world  can  bear  it)  shall  derive  light  and  knowledge  : 
that  I  leave  for  you  to  decide.  In  the  preceding  pages  I  have 
furnished  you  what  aid  I  could,  in  making  up  your  decision. 

This,  however,  I  pray  you  to  observe :  that  you  have  to 
decide  not  at  all  whether  the  mass  of  alleged  spiritual  commun- 
ications of  the  day  can  fitly  educate  conscience  ;  f  but  whether, 
when  prudence  and  reverence  preside,  a  Spirit  of  truth,  from 
an  ultramundane  sphere,  speaking  not  of  itself  but  from  the 
knowledge  which  a  heavenly  residence  imparts,  may  not  be  the 
medium,  promised  by  Christ,  for  the  regeneration  of  man- 
kind. 

*  Book  i.  chapter  2. 

f  What  impartial  historian  would  judge  the  Protestantism  of  Luther's 
day  by  the  extravagances  of  the  Anabaptists,  or  the  atrocities  of  the 
Peasants'  War  ? 

Some  of  the  best  and  most  intelligent  friends  I  have  are  endowed 
with  one  or  more  of  those  spiritual  gifts  of  mediumship,  as  to  which  Paul 
declares  that  we  should  all  desire  them  :  and  many  more  share  my  own 
convictions  touching  the  great  truths  of  Spiritualism.  ShaU  I  discard 
these  excellent  friends,  or  hear  them  arraigned  for  their  behef  with- 
out solemn  protest,  merely  because  the  new  faith  has,  like  early  Luth- 
eranism,  attracted  its  waifs  and  strays ;  or  because  it  has  been  often 
interpreted,  like  Lutheranism,  by  those  whose  zeal  outruns  theij 
knowledge  ? 


CHRIST  ON  CEETAIN   CONDITIONS.  541 

— Promised  conditionally.  The  basis  of  all — the  indispensa- 
ble condition-precedent — is  loyalty  to  conscience.  Tlie  promise 
is  to  those  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  the  Right.  It  is  their 
hunger,  their  thirst,  which,  from  a  spiritual  source,  shall  be 
stilled. 

I  check  tlie  temptation  to  enlarge  on  this.  A  recapitulation 
must  not  stretch  out  into  a  second  work.  Yet  permit  me  to 
add  a  disclaimer,  not  needed  for  thoughtful  minds,  but  which 
may  avert  misconstruction. 

I  have  not  been  asserting — far  be  it  from  me — that,  in  our 
day  and  generation,  severity  is  always  misplaced,  or  that  legal 
penalties  are  useless  ;  still  less,  that  we  should  not  carefully 
explain  to  children  the  suffering  they  incur  by  doing  evil,  the 
pleasure  which  results  froiii  doing  well :  that  is  an  educator's 
bounden  duty.  I  but  say  that  Christ  discards — as  the  world 
will  some  day  discard — force  and  fear  and  selfish  gain  as  mo- 
tives. I  but  remind  you  that  Christ  trusts,  for  a  world's 
reformation,  to  influences  higher,  nobler  than  these — to  an 
impulse  strong  as  hunger,  strong  as  thirst, — to  a  love  seeking 
not  her  own,  rejoicing  in  the  truth,  that  shall  draw  men,  as  by 
chain  of  steel,  to  do  that  which  is  right. 

Other  characteristics  of  Christ's  teachings  will  readily  sug- 
gest themselves.  The  element  of  forgiveness,  in  a  degree  un- 
known among  us  yet.  An  erring  brother  pardoned  even  to 
seventy  times  seven.  The  merciful  blessed;  they  shall  obtain 
mercy.  A  frail  oflfender,  excommunicated  by  society,  set  free, 
uncondemned,  and  bidden  to  sin  no  more. 

Beneficence,  especially  to  the  weary  and  heavy-laden,  is  an- 
other marked  feature.  Helping  the  poor.  Ministering  to  the 
stranger,  the  hungry,  the  naked,  the  sick  and  those  in  bonds. 
That  which  we  do  unto  them  v/e  do  unto  God. 

We  are  warned  against  the  danger  of  riches ;  against  over- 
much thought  for  the  morrow  ;  against  eager  seeking  of  place 
or  power.  The  treasures  which  moth  and  rust  corrupt,  the 
uppermost  rooms  at  feasts  and  the  chief  seats  in  synagogues 


642  QUESTIONING    IHE   UNEXPLOEED. 

are  declared  to  be  objects  unworthy  to  engross  the  heart  of 
man. 

There  are  enjoined  meekness,  peace  even  to  non-resistance  of 
evil,  purity  as  much  in  thought  «,s  in  action,  resignation  under 
whatever  God  sends. 

"We  are  encouraged  to  have  faith  and  hope,  based  on  the  as- 
surance that  the  Father  knows  our  needs  and  will  provide, 
before  we  ask  Him;  but,  above  all  and  beyond  all,  as  stamp 
and  witness  of  our  discipleship,  as  the  very  fulfilment  of  God's 
behests,  we  are  incited  to  something  greater  than  faith,  greater 
than  hope — uplifting  as  their  influence  is — even  to  the  supreme 
law  of  all — Love. 

A  mere  skeleton  sketch  is  this  ;  yet  it  is  all  that  space  per- 
'flits.  Is  not  such  a  Spiritual  System  worthy  to  be  called  in- 
spired ?  Is  it  not  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  cor- 
rection and  for  instruction  in  righteousness  ? 

May  this  generation  prosecute  more  and  more  careful  re- 
searches into  that  Debatable  Land  on  the  confines  of  which  we 
have  been  straying!  Aided  by  spirits  that  have  passed  on,  in 
advance  of  our  spirits,  under  the  triumphal  death-change  and 
into  the  beautiful  Beyond — the  still,  small  voice  our  monitor, 
Christ  our  chief  guide — safely  shall  we  question  the  Unex- 
plored :  safely  and  profitably.  We  need  the  lessons  that  are 
taught  by  its  laws.  We  need  the  evidence  that  is  supplied  by 
its  phenomena.  In  the  Bordor-land  between  two  worlds  we 
come  upon  much-needed  influences,  far  more  powerful  than  any 
of  earth :  graci  ous  influences  fitted  to  fortify  degenerate  morality 
and  foster  spiritual  growth. 


THE  END. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


jgooiiiiiln   on   l^t  gonnbarg    of   gin0l^;er    WLatlliK 

WITH   NABBATIVE    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Of  this  work  there  have  been  sold,  in  this  country  and  in 
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example  of  its  reception  is  that  it  met  in  All  the  Year  Hound 
(September,  1860),  from  Charles  Dickens  ;  who,  after  dissent- 
ing from  many  of  its  conclusions,  said:  "I  rise  from  the  per- 
usal of  this  book  with  a  high  regard  for  Mr.  Owen  personally. 
He  is  a  gentleman  of  a  sweet  temper,  and  expresses  himself  as 
a  gentleman  should.  He  is  a  good  wiiter,  and  has  an  admir- 
able 1)0 wer  of  telling  a  story.  That  one  of  his  stories  which 
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Excellent  throughout,  it  is  told  with  a  singular  propriety, 
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Delicate  Ground — A  powerful  new  novel  bv  Mrs.  Annie  Edwardes 1  00 


G.    IV.   CARLETON  &-  CO:S  PUBLICATIONS. 
Miscellaneous    Works. 


Dawn  to  Noon— By  Violet  Fane..$i  50 
Constances  Fate  — Do.         ..   i  50 

French   Love  Songs — ^IVanslated  .       50 

A  Bad  Boy's  First  Reader 10 

Lion  Jack -By   P.  T.  Bamum i  50 

Jack  in  the  Jungle — Do.  150 

Cats,  Cooks,  Etc— By  Edw.  T.  Ely.       50 

Drumming  as  a  Fine  Art 50 

How  to  Win  in  "Wall  Street 50 

The  Life  of  Sarah  Bern  hardt 25 

Arctic  Travels — Isaac  I.  Hayes 1  50 

College  Tramps— Fred.  A.  Stokes.,  i  50 
Gospels  in  Poetry— E.  H.  Kimball.  1  50 
Me — By  Mrs.  Spencer  W.  Coe...  .  50 
N.  Y.  10  San  Francisco- Leslie....   i  50 

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Don  Quixote — Illustrated $1 

Arabian  Nights — Do ;. .   i 

Robinson  Crusoe  Do        i 

Swiss  Family  Robinson — Illus...  i 
Debatable  Land— R.  Dale  Owen...  2 
Threading  My  "Way.     Do.  ...  i 

Spiritualism — By  D.  D.  Home 2 

Fanny  Fern  Memorials 2 

Orpheus  C.  Kerr— 4  vols,  in  one.. . .  2 
Northern  Ballads — E.  L.  Anderson,   i 

Offenbach's  Tour  in  America i 

Stories  about  Doctors— JeffVeson.  i 
Stories  about  Lawyers  Do.  ..  i 
Mrs.  Spriggins.— By  Widow  Bedott  i 
How  to  Make  Money— Davits....  i 

Novels. 


Doctor  Antonio — By  Ruffini 

Beatrice  Cenci — From  the  Italian. 
Madame— By  Frank  Lee  Benedict.. 
A  Late  Remorse  Do. 

Hammer  and  Anvil       Do. 
Her  Friend  Laurence   Do. 
Prairie  Flower — Emerson  Bennett 
Among  the  Thorns— Dickinson. . . 
Women  of  To-day-Mrs.W.H.White  i  50 

Braxton's  Bar — R.  M.  Daggett i  50 

Miss  Beck — Tilbury  Holt    i  50 

Sub  Rosa— Chas.  T.  Murray' 50 

Hilda  and  I — E.  Bedell  Benjamin.  .  1  50 
A  College  W^idow— C.  H.  Seymour  i  50 
Old  M'sieur's  Secret — Translation.       50 

Petticoats  and  Slippers 50 

Shiftless  Folks — Fannie  Smith i  50 

Peace  Pelican.  Do.         i  50 

Price  of  a  Life — R.  Forbes  Sturgis.  i  50 

Hidden  Power— T.  H.  Tibbies i  50 

Two  Brides— Bernard  O'Reilly i  50 

Sorry  Her  Lot — Miss  Grant i   co 

Two  of  Us— Calista  Halsey 75 

Cupid  on  Crutches— A.  B.  Wood..  75 
Parson  Thorne-E.  M.  Buckingham,   i  50 

Marston  Hall— L.  Ella  Byrd i  50 

Ange— Florence  Marryatt i  00 

Errors— Ruth  Carter i  50 

Unmistakable  Flirtation— Garner.  75 
Wild  Oats — Florence  Marr^-att. . ..     i 

W^idow  Cherry  — B.   L.  Farjeon 

Solomon  Isaacs.  Do 

Edith  Murray— Joanna  Mathews.,  i 
Doctor  Mortimer — Fannie  Bean. . .  1 
Outwitted  at  Last— S.  A.  Gardner  i 

Vesta  Vane— L.  King.  R i 

Louise  and  I— C.  R.Dodge i 

My  Queen— By  Sandette \  50 

Fallen  among  Thieves — Rayne...    i  50 

San   Miniato — Mrs.  Hamilton i  00 

All  For  Her— A  Tale  of  New  York. .  i  50 
All  for  Him — Author  "All  for  Her"  .   i  50 

For  Each  Other.     Do i  50 

The    Baroness — Joaquin  M  Her i  50 

One  Fair  Woman.        I^o.  i  50 


Saint  Leger — Richard  B.  Kimball.. fi 
Was  He  Successful  ?  Do.     .  i 

UrdercurrentsofWallSt.  Do.  .  i 
Romance  of  Student  Life.  Do.  .  1 
To-day.  Do    ..   i 

Life  in  San  Domingo.  Do..       1 

Kenry  Pow^ers,  Banker.      Do.     .  i 

Led  Astray-  Octave  Feuil'et 1 

She  Loved  Him  Madly — Bor>-s. ..  1 

Thick  and  Thin— Mery 1 

So  Fair  yet  False— Chavette 1 

A  Fata!  Passicn—C.  Bernard.. ...  1 
A  Woman's  Case— Bessie  Turner.,  i 
Marguerite's  Journal— For  Girls..  1 
Rose  of  Memphis— W.  C.  Falkner.  i 
Spell- Bound — Alexandre  Dumas... 
Hearts  Delight — Mrs.  Alderdice..  i 
Another  Mai's  Wife— Mrs.  Hartt.  i 
Purple  and  Fine  Linen — Fawcett..  1 
Pauline's  Trial — L.  D.  Courtney...   i 

The  Forgiving  Kiss— M.  Loth i 

Flirtation— A  We  st  Point  novel i 

Loyal  unto  Death i 

That  Awful  Boy 

That  Bridget  of  Ours 

Phemie  Frost — Ann  S.  .Stephens...   i 

Charette— An  American  novel .   i 

Fairfax — Jo:. n  Esten  Cooke 1 

Hilt  to  Hilt.  Do I 

Out  of  the  Foam.        Do i 

Hammer  and  Rapier.  Do i 

Warwick— By  M.  T.  Walworth i 

l-ulu.  Do.  ....   I 

Hotspur  Do.  ...     I 

StormcliflF.  Do.  1 

Delaplaine.  Do.  i 

Beverly.  Do.  1 

Kenneth— Scillie  A.  Brock i 

Heart  Hungry — Westmoreland i 

Clifford  Tioupe.  Do 1 

Silcott  Mill— Maria  D.  Deslonde...  i 
John  Maribel.  Do.  ...   i 

Conquered — Bv  a  New  Author 1 

Janet — An  English  novel 1 

Tales  from  the  Popular  Operas.,   i 


5c 


CHARLES   DICKENS'   WORKS. 

A  NEW        %i^        EDITION. 

Among  the  many  editions  of  the  works  of  this  greatest  o) 
English  Novelists,  there  has  not  been  until  now  one  that  entirely 
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some  strong  distinctive  objection, — either  the  form  and  dimen 
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indistinct — or,  the  illustrations  are  unsatisfactory — or,  the  bind 
mg  is  poor — or,  the  price  is  too  high. 

An  entirely  new  edition  is  now,  however,  published  by  G.  W 
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Complete  in  15  Volumes. 

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the  approval  of  the  reading  community  in  other  works. 

The  illustrations  are  by  the  original  artists  chosen  by  Charles 
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This  beautiful  new  edition  is  complete  in  15  volumes — at  the 
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S.^URIOSITY   SHOP  AND   MISCELLANEOUS. 

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